E  PLANNING 


OF   THE 


MODERN  CITY 


NELSON  P.  LEWIS 


i^: 


THE  PLANNING  OF 
THE  MODERN  CITY 

A  Review  of  the  Principles 
Governing  City  Planning 


BY 

NELSON  P.  LEWIS 

Member  of  the  A  uterican  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the  A  nterican  Society  oj 
Municipal  Improvements,  the  National  Conference  on  City  Planning, 
the  Permanent  Association  of  International  Road  Congresses, 
the  Avierican  Road  Builders'  Association,  the  Munic- 
ipal Engineers  of  the   City  of  New   York  and 
the  Brooklyn  Efigineers'  Club.      Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Board  of  Esti- 
inate  and  Apportionment 
of  New  York  City 


FIRST    EDITION 
FIRST   THOUSAND 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN   WILEY  &   SONS,    Inc. 

London  :  CHAPMAN  &  HALL,  Limited 
1916 


Copyright,  1916 

BY 

NELSON   P.  LEWIS 


i>>i(>«  or 

HHAUNWOHTH   ft    CO. 

aOOKKINOflK    AND    *>MIHTIM 

IIHOOKl<m.    N      V. 


/-? 


TO  THE 

Municipal  ^njincera 

of  tl|e  Initeb  States 

THE  FIRST  MEN  ON  THE  GROUND 

IN  CITY  PLANNING 

AS    IN    CITY    BUILDING 

IN  THE  HOPE  THAT  IT  MAY  HELP 

THEM  TO  REALIZE  THEIR 

RESPONSIBILITIES  AND  OPPORTUNITIES 

IN  DETERMINING  THE  MANNER 

IN  WHICH  OUR  CITIES 

WILL  DEVELOP 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  DEDICATED 

BY 


340599 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

List  of  Figures  and  Diagrams  in  Text vii 

List  of  Subjects  Illustrated  by  Plates xi 

List  of  Tables xv 

CHAPTER 

I.  Introductory i 

II.  The  City  Planning  Movement 8 

;;,i*4II.  The  Correction  of  Mistakes 27 

—IV.  Elements  of  a  City  Plan 44 

V.  The  Transportation  System .54 

VI.  The  Street  System 86 

VII.  Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities 130 

VIII.  Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers 149 

IX.  The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan 175 

X.  The  Industrial  Town  or  District     , 186 

XI.  Street  Traffic 200 

XII.  Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment 220 

XIII.  The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    .     .     .  247 

XIV.  Restrictions 260 

XV.  The  Environs  of  the  City 286 

XVI.  Garden  Cities 299 

XVII.  City  Planning  Legislation 320 

XVIII.  Progress  and  Methods 338 

XIX.  Financing  a  City  Plan 359 

XX.  Municipal  Land  Policies 389 

XXI.  The   Opportunities   and    Responsibilities   of   the   Municipal 

Engineer 404 

Sources  of  Information 413 

Index 415 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGURES  AND  DIAGRAMS  INCLUDED  IN  THE  TEXT 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Plan  showing  the  cutting  through  of  a  new  street  to   form   a    trafl&c 

artery  in  New  York 38 

2.  An  overbuilt  block  in  Boston  and  proposed  remedy 40 

3.  The  Minetta  street  problem  in  New  York 41 

4.  Successive  additions  to  Los  Angeles 65 

5.  The  Trunk  Line  railroads  entering  Chicago 69 

6.  Location  of  terminal  passenger  stations  in  Chicago 70 

7.  Proposed  simplified  plan  for  railroads  entering  Chicago 71 

8.  The  railroad  terminals  of  New  York 73 

9.  Proposed  marginal  railroad  along  the  Brooklyn  waterfront       ....  75 

10.  Location  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station  and  terminal  yard  and  the  New  York 

Central  Station,  New  York 77 

11.  Cross  section  of  boulevard   200  feet  wide,   with  elevated  railroad    on 

masonry  structure 79 

12.  Open  cut  for  rapid  transit  railroad  in  street  100  feet  wide 80 

13.  Open  cut  for  rapid  transit  railroad  in  street  150  feet  wide 80 

14.  The  Wren  plan  for  rebuilding  London  after  the  Great  Fire      ....  92 

15.  The  Evelyn  plan  for  rebuilding  London 92 

16.  Principal  traffic  streets  of  Paris 95 

17.  General  street  system  of  the  central  part  of  Cologne 96 

18.  Principal  traffic  streets  of  Rochester,  N.  Y 99 

19.  Plan  proposed  for  Detroit  in  1807 100 

20.  Principal  traffic  streets  of  Detroit  at  the  present  time loi 

21.  Street  to  include  narrow  and  crooked  road 104 

22.  Existing  radial  thoroughfares  of  Boston 105 

23.  Fragments  of  circumferential  thoroughfares  of  Boston 106 

24.  Development  of  an  arterial  street  system  based  upon  existing  roads       .  107 

25.  Different  methods  of  treating  offsets  and  irregular  street  junctions     .      .112 

26.  General  plan  showing  the  street  system  of  Essen     ...           ...  113 

vii 


viii  Figures  and  Diagrams  in  Text 

FIGURE  PACE 

27.  An   old   established   center   ignored   in   developing   the   street   plan   of 

BrookljTi 116 

28.  Disregard  of  existing  improvements  in  laying  out  a  rectangular  street 

system 117 

29.  Subdivision  of  an  irregular  block  by  introducing  an  interior  court  .120 

30.  Triangular  area  subdivided  in  the  conventional  manner  by  street  60  and 

80  feet  wide 124 

31.  An  alternative  subdivision  of  the  same  area  by  streets  40  and  50  feet  wide  125 

32.  Changes  in  the  subdivision  of  a  typical  block  in  New  York     .     .     .     .127 

33.  Method  employed  in  Philadelphia  in  subdividing  a  large  block  into  three 

smaller  blocks 1 28 

34.  Semi-detached  houses  served  by  a  central  heating  plant 1 29 

35.  Parks  and  parkways  of  the  Metrop>olitan  District  of  Boston   ....  137 

36.  Palisades  Interstate  Park  system 144 

37.  Location  of  a  monumental  building  with  respect  to  grades  of  approach- 

ing streets 152 

38.  Location  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station  and  Post  Office,  New  York,  with 

respect  to  the  street  system 1 54 

39.  Location  of  Grand  Central  Station,  New  York,  with  respect  to  the  street 

system 154 

40.  Plan  of  express  track  level,  Grand  Central  Terminal,  New  York    .      .      .  15O 

41.  Plan  of  suburban  track  level,  Grand  Central  Terminal,  New  York     .     .  157 

42.  Location  of  Union  Station,  Washington 159 

43.  Location  of  principal  railway  station,  Frankfort 160 

44.  Proposed  location  of  new  courthouse.  New  York 163 

45.  Plan  of  San  Francisco  civic  center 165 

46.  Area  of  benefit  for  acquiring  Central  Park,  New  York 179 

47.  Area  of  benefit  for  acquiring  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn 180 

48.  Plan  of  Gary,  Indiana 190 

49.  Gyratory  system  of  traffic  regulation  at  Columbus  Circle,  New  York     .  215 

50.  Proptjscd  adaptation  of  the  gyratory  system  of  traffic  regulation  to  a 

rectangular  intersection  of  two  streets  with  roadways  55  feet  wide   .   216 

51.  Examples  of  the  subdivision  of  exceptionally  wide  streets 229 

52.  An  instance  of  excessive  provision  for  roadways  in  a  very  wide   street 

to  the  exclusion  of  parking  features,  and  proi)oscd  modification       ,    231 

53.  Section  showing  sub-surface  structures  in  Broadway,  New  York       .      .   233 

54.  Location  of  three  railroad  bridges  crossing  a  boulevard  200  feet  wide 

within  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile  and  all  at  diflercnt  angles       .    25S 

55.  Showing  typical  regulations  governing  character  and  use  of  buildings 

which  are  imposed  upon  si)ecific  areas  in  Leipzig 272 


Figures  and  Diagrams  in  Text  ix 

FIGURE  .  PACE 

56.  The  system  of  radial  highways  leading  out  of  Philadelphia      ....   292 

57.  The  State  highway  system  of  New  York 295 

58.  A  county  road  system  in  Ohio 296 

59.  Plan  of  Forest  Hills  Gardens,  New  York 310 

60.  Plan  of  a  suburban  development  in  the  outskirts  of  San  Francisco      .     .314 

61.  Diagram  showing  proposed  distribution  of  the  cost  of  acqviiring  streets 

of  different  widths 371 

62.  Diagram  showing  a  method  of  grading  assessments  for  benefit       ,     .     .  372 


SUBJECTS  ILLUSTRATED  BY  PLATES 


PLATE  PAGE 

1.  The  skyline  of  lower  Manhattan  Island,  New  York,  at  four  different 

periods 12 

2.  Views  showing  tall  buildings  and  narrow  streets  of  New  York       .     .     .13 

3.  Plan  of  the  Strand-to-Holbom  Improvement,  London 42 

4.  General  features  of  the  plan  for  the  new  Indian  capital  at  Delhi    ...     43 

5.  The  Pittsburgh  "  Hump  "  (upper);   a  portion  of  the  harbor  of  Hamburg 

(lower) 58 

6.  The  harbor  of  Duisburg-Ruhrort  (upper) ;    Plan  for  the  improvement  of 

Jamaica  Bay,  New  York  (lower) ^p 

7.  Two  views  of  the  waterfront  of  Rio  de  Janeiro .66 

8.  Grand  Central  Station,  New  York,  and  its  underground  connections       .     67 

9.  The  New  York  Connecting  Railroad  and  the  Hell  Gate  Bridge      ...     74 

10.  Two  views  of  the  elevated  rapid-transit  railroad  in  Queens  Boulevard, 

New  York 78 

11.  The  railway  terminals  of  Berlin   (upper);   Lower  Broadway,  New  York, 

under  which  a  four-track  rapid-transit  subway  is  being  constructed 
without  interference  with  the  street  traffic  (lower) 79 

12.  Two  views  showing  the  construction  of  a  double-deck  rapid-transit  rail- 

road under  a  busy  street 82 

13.  A  double-deck,  four-track,  rapid-transit  subway  with  the  steel  erected     .     83 

14.  View  of  William  street.  New  York,   under  which  a  double-track  rapid- 

transit  subway  is  being  built 86 

15.  Plan  for  Canberra,  the  proposed  capital  city  of  Australia 87 

16.  A  typical  section  of  the  plan  of  Paris,  showing  the  arrangement  of  streets 

and  boulevards  (upper);    Plan  showing  the  over-intensive   use  of 
land  in  Charlottenburg  (lower) no 

17.  Three  examples  of  curved  streets m 

18.  A  depressed  central  heating  plant,  using  the  chimney  of  an  adjacent  church 

(upper);   View  of  the  site  of  Canberra  (lower) 132 

19.  Plan  of  the  parks  and  parkways  of  Kansas  City 133 

20.  The  boulevard  system  of  San  Francisco 138 

xi 


xii  Subjects   Illustrated  by  Plates 

PLATE  PACK 

21.  The  system  of  parks  and  connecting  parkways  in  the  Borough  of  The 

Bronx,  New  York 139 

22.  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn,  and  the  parkways  leading  from  it     ...      .  140 

23.  Two  views  in  Toronto's  wild  park 141 

24.  The  Kensico  Dam  in  New  York's  water  supply  sj'stem 146 

25.  Two  typical  views  of  the  Bronx  River,  New  York 147 

26.  Views  of  the  Charles  River  waterfront,  Boston,  before  and  after  the 

creation  of  the  Charles  River  Basin 150 

27.  The  proposed  grouping  of  public  buildings  in  Washington,  view  looking 

east 150 

28.  The  proposed  grouping  of  public  buildings  in  Washington,  view  looking 

west  along  the  Mall 151 

29.  The  Monroe  Palace  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  (upper) ;   A  railroad  office  building 

and  freight  house  at  .\lbany,  New  York  (lower) 151 

30.  The  New  York  Public  Library  at  night  and  detail  showing  fountain    .       .154 

31.  Grand  Central  Terminal  in  New  York  in  1906  when  operated  by  steam    .   154 

32.  Two  views  of  the  Grand  Central  Terminal,  New  York,  in  191 5,  after 

reconstruction  and  the  abandonment  of  steam  operation       .      .      .155 

33.  Park  Avenue,   New  York,    looking    north    from    the    Grand    Central 

Terminal 155 

34.  The   Forty-second    street  front   of   the   Grand   Central   Station,   New 

York 158 

35.  The  Union  Railway  Station  in  Washington  (upper);    the  Union  Railway 

Station  in  St.  Louis  (lower) 159 

36.  The  Municipal  Office  Building,  New  York,  with  street  passing  under  it   .   162 

37.  The  Municipal  Office  Building  and  the  Woolworth  Building,  New  York, 

as  each  is  seen  from  the  other 162 

38.  Proposed  circular  courthouse  for  New  York  (upper);  The  civic  center  at 

Springfield,  Mdss.  (lower) 163 

39.  The  Cleveland  grcnip  plan 163 

40.  View  of  San  Francisco's  civic  center  (upper) ;  An  old  aqueduct  in  Rio  de 

Janeiro  (lower) 166 

41.  Two  examples  of  high-school  buildings  in  New  York 167 

42.  A  "bungalow"  firc-cnginc  house  in  Portland,  Ore.  (top);    Entrance  to 

the  Santa  Fc  Railroad  Station  at  San  Diego,  Cal.  (middle);   Railroad 

station  at  Barstow,  Cal.  (Ixjttom) 170 

43.  Plaza  at  main  entrance  to  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn 171 

44.  General  plan  of  Fairmount  Parkway,  Philadelphia 174 

45.  The  Cambridge  Bridge  over  the  Charles  River  at  Boston 174 

46.  High  Bridge,  New  York 175 

47.  Washington  Bridge,  New  York 175 


Subjects   Illustrated  by  Plates  xiii 

PLATE  PACE 

48.  Waterfront  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  with  sewage  pumping  station  (upper);    A 

sewage  treatment  plant  at  Essen-Nord  (lower) 178 

49.  Aerating   fountains  at   the   Ashokan   Reservoir   in   New   York's   water 

supply  system 179 

50.  Concrete  bridge  over  a  ravine  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Ashokan  Reservoir.  190 

51.  Plan  of  an  industrial  town  near  Duluth 191 

52.  Workmen's  houses  in  the  industrial  town  near  Duluth  (upper);  cottages 

in  Colony  Gewerkschaft,  Emscher-Lippe  (lower) 196 

53.  Cottages  in  Colony  Altenhof,  Essen 197 

54.  Typical  houses  for  workmen  in  Colony  Alfredshof,  Essen 204 

55.  Plan  of  Colony  Gewerkschaft,  Emscher-Lippe  (upper);    Plan  of  Colony 

Alfredshof,  Essen  (lower) 205 

56.  Plans  showing  the  tramway  system  and  the  omnibus  routes  of  central 

London 210 

57.  Parking  automobiles  on  one  side  of  a  street  in  Seattle  (upper);    Un- 

symmetrical  arrangement  of  a  street  in  Essen  (lower)       .      .     .      .211 

58.  Another  example  of  the  treatment  of  streets  in  Essen  (upper);    A  wide 

sewer  inlet  in  Pasadena  (lower) 222 

59.  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  on  Easter  Sunday 223 

60.  Examples  of  effective  street  lighting  and  ornamental  lamp  standards       .   242 

61.  Some  examples  of  lamp  standards  to  be  found  in  towns  on  the  Pacific 

Coast 243 

62.  Views  showing  the  lighting  of  Fifth  avenue  and  the  high  cflSce  buildings 

of  lower  Manhattan,  New  York 244 

63.  The  Boston  State  House  at  night  and  the  battery  of  lights  by  which  it  is 

illuminated 245 

64.  Two  examples  of  the  flood  lighting  of  public  buildings:   Public  Library  in 

Lynn,  Mass.  (upper) ;  City  Hall  in  Waterbury,  Conn,  (lower)      .     .  246 

65.  Examples  of  the  illumination  of  towers 247 

66.  Two  views  showing  the  effect  of  placing  trees  on  the  street  line  instead 

of  the  curb  line 250 

67.  Two  details  showing  the  character  of  development  at  Forest  Hills  Gar- 

dens, New  York 251 

68.  Entrances  to  a  suburban  development  near  San  Francisco       .     .     .     .252 

69.  Entrances  to  two  of  the  St.  Louis  "  places  " 253 

70.  Entrance  to  and  view  of  Hortense  Place,  St.  Louis 254 

71.  Arcade  along  the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  Paris  (left);    Front  yards  in  Berlin 

(right) 255 

72.  A  well-shaded  street  in  Redlands,  Cal.  (upper);  Roses  in  a  street  in  Port- 

land, Ore.  (lower) 258 

73.  The  Stockton  Street  Tunnel,  San  Francisco 259 


xiv  Subjects  Illustrated  by  Plates 

PLATE  PACB 

74.  Bronze  base  of  one  of  the  flagstafTs  in  front  of  the  New  York  Public 

Library  (upper) ;  A  bridge  carr>'ing  a  railroad  over  a  street  in  Phila- 
delphia (lower) 260 

75.  Views  showing  the  elimination  of  a  grade  crossing  by  raising  the  railroad 

and  lowering  the  street 261 

76.  Views  showing  the  elimination  of  a  grade  crossing  by  elevating  the  rail- 

road and  retaining  the  street  level 268 

77.  Views  showing  the  elimination  of  a  blind  grade  crossing  by  straightening 

the  highway 269 

78.  Two  railroad  bridges  across  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York     .      .      .     .270 

79.  Views   showing   encroachments   upon    Broadway,   New   York,   and   the 

improvement  caused  by  their  removal 271 

80.  Examples  of  the  obstruction  of  public  streets  in  Vienna 294 

81.  Two  views  along  the  Columbia  Highway  in  Oregon 295 

82.  Views  along  the  Columbia  Highway 298 

83.  Snapshots  taken  along  the  Columbia  Highway 299 

84.  Publishing  plant  of  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company  at  Garden  City,  New 

York 310 

85.  Plans  of  two  typical  English  garden  cities 311 

86.  Views  of  "  Station  Place,"  Forest  Hills  Gardens,  New  York     ....  314 

87.  Plan  of,  and  view  showing  cottages  erected  at,  Billerica  Garden  Suburb  .  315 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


TABLE  PAGE 

I.  Rate  of  increase  of  urban  and  rural  population  in  the  United  States 

from  1900  to  1910 20 

II.  Increase  in  population  of  typical  German  and  American  cities  from 

1880  to  1910 21 

III.  Estimated  cost  of  constructing  double-track  railroads  of  various  t5^es 

under,  upon  or  above  the  surface  of  city  streets  under  different 
conditions 85 

IV.  Relative  cost  of  development  of  the  same  area  under  different  methods 

of  subdivision 126 

V.  Park  statistics  of  various  cities 132 

VI.  Distribution  of  parks  in  New  York  according  to  Boroughs  ....   134 
VII.  Number  of  licenses  issued  by  the  London  Metropolitan  Police  for  cabs, 

omnibuses  and  tram  cars  from  1903  to  1912,  inclusive     ....   208 
Vin.  Relative  obstruction  caused  by  different  vehicles,  as  estimated  in 

London 210 

IX.  Fatal  accidents  in  streets  of  the  six  largest  cities  during  the  year  191 1   .   211 

X.  Areas  and  dates  of  the  several  additions  to  Los  Angeles 294 

XI.  Some  statistics  of  English  garden  cities 305 

XII.  Increase  in  land  values  in  New  York,  from  1899  to  1913       ....  402 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


CHAPTER   I 
INTRODUCTORY 

IS  there  any  occasion  for  another  book  on  the  general  subject 
of  City  Planning?  A  number  of  volumes  devoted  to  this 
subject  have  been  published  under  various  titles,  while  many 
reports  dealing  with  specific  conditions  and  localities  afford 
excellent  illustrations  of  the  manner  in  which  city  planning 
problems  may  be  approached  and  solved.  These  reports  often 
contain  more  valuable  suggestions  than  are  to  be  found  in  books 
which  attempt  to  cover  the  entire  field  and  to  lay  down  funda- 
mental principles  rather  than  deal  with  concrete  examples. 
This  being  the  case  it  may  be  asked:  "Why  make  another 
contribution  to  a  field  so  fully  covered?  "  The  answer  is  that 
the  present  volume  is  to  be  devoted  almost  entirely  to  the  engi- 
neering aspects  of  city  planning,  or  to  city  planning  as  an  en- 
gineering problem  or  group  of  problems.  It  is  the  hope  of  the 
author  that  municipal  engineers  will  find  the  following  pages 
of  some  value  in  bringing  to  them  a  somewhat  keener  realiza- 
tion of  their  part  in,  and  responsibility  for,  the  constructive 
work  of  city  planning  as  well  as  city  building.  Most  of  the  liter- 
ature of  this  subject  has  been  contributed  either  by  architects, 
who  emphasize  its  architectural  or  artistic  side  and  appear  to 
consider  it  an  architectural  problem,  or  by  students  of  city  gov- 
ernment, who  seem  to  regard  it  as  an  administrative  problem. 
This  volume  is  just  as  frankly  written  with  the  idea  that  the 
fundamental  problems  of  city  planning  are,  and  from  their  very 
nature  must  be,  engineering  problems. 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  Ctiy 


Subjects  will  be  discussed  that  are  not  generally  considered 
as  failing  within  the  scope  of  the  engineer's  activities,  but  they 
are  all  subjects  with  which  one  who  is  responsible  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  city  plan  should  be  familiar.  Perhaps  the  most 
important  characteristic  of  any  design  should  be  its  adaptability 
to  altered  conditions.  If  this  be  true  with  respect  to  a  build- 
ing, an  industrial  plant,  a  railway  or  shipping  terminal  which 
can  be  enlarged  or  replaced  or  even  moved  to  another  location, 
it  is  much  more  important  in  the  case  of  the  ground  plan  of  a 
city,  which  cannot  be  rearranged  or  transferred  to  another 
place.  There  is  no  undertaking,  therefore,  which  demands  more 
careful  study  of  what  has  happened  elsewhere,  what  is  likely 
to  happen  in  a  particular  place,  and  the  development  of  tenden- 
cies which  are  sure  to  result  in  changes  in  the  methods  of  living 
and  conducting  business,  than  the  working  out  of  the  general 
plan  for  a  city  or  for  the  successive  additions  to  an  existing  city. 

The  books  and  periodicals  devoted  to  city  planning  are  not 
only  agreeable  reading,  but  are  instructive  and  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  literature  of  the  subject.  They  are  profusely 
illustrated  with  plans  of  ancient  cities  and  pictures  indicating 
how  they  must  have  appeared  in  their  day,  and  with  numerous 
views  of  many  of  the  world's  greatest  and  best-known  buildings 
or  groups  of  buildings,  some  of  which  have  done  duty  in  nearly 
every  book  yet  j)ublished  upon  this  subject.  Such  illustrations 
will  be  very  sparingly  used  in  this  volume,  or  will  be  conspicuous 
by  their  absence.  Photographs  will  be  used,  not  because  they 
are  attractive  pictures  which  would  add  interest  to  a  book  of 
travel,  but  in  order  to  illustrate  the  efTect  of  a  certain  plan, 
treatment  or  policy  discussed  in  the  text.  The  preference  will 
on  the  other  hand  be  given  to  diagrams  and  plans  which,  while 
they  may  not  make  as  strong  an  appeal  to  the  casual  reader  who 
turns  the  pages,  will  indicate  what  has  more  recently  been 
done  and  what  is  being  planned  and  executed  at  the  present 
time,  and  which  will  make  more  clear  the  jHiqK)se  of  the  author 
and  speak  more  convincingly  to  those  whom  he  is  most  desirous 
of  reaching.     The  accomplishments  of  those  who  built  ancient 


Introductory  3 

Palmyra,  Cyrene,  Athens  and  Rome  are  well  worthy  of  admira- 
tion and  may  be  an  inspiration  to  the  municipal  engineer  who 
is  responsible  for  modern  city  planning,  but  he  will  make  a 
mistake  if  he  uses  them  as  models.  In  many  of  the  cities  of 
antiquity  there  were  superb  buildings,  or  groups  of  buildings, 
or  impressively  beautiful  and  dignified  approaches  to  or  con- 
nections between  them  adorned  with  colonnades  and  arches 
which  were  masterpieces  of  architectural  design,  but  the  plans 
of  the  cities  themselves  were  rigidly  rectangular,  with  exceed- 
ingly narrow  streets,  and  are  examples  of  the  very  thing  we  are 
now  trying  to  avoid  in  city  planning.  The  forums  of  these 
cities  were  excellent  examples  of  the  effective  grouping  of  tem- 
ples and  public  buildings;  they  were  the  show  places  of  the  city; 
each  was  a  small  unit  of  the  city  plan  and  as  such  they  were 
admirable.  They  were  not  connected  with  each  other,  and 
each  seems  to  have  been  located  without  regard  to  the  general 
city  plan,  but  rather  to  have  been  designed  to  emphasize  the 
power  and  glory  of  a  particular  period  or  individual.  The 
model  of  Imperial  Rome  in  the  fourth  century,  exhibited  at 
the  Salon  des  Artistes  Frangaises  in  1913  by  M.  Bigot,  was 
much  admired  and  was  undoubtedly  of  great  architectural 
and  archaeological  value  and  interest,  but  it  illustrates  very 
forcibly  the  fact  that  these  units  were  put  down  wherever  a 
place  could  be  found  for  them,  and  that  they  were  not  parts  of 
a  general  plan  for  the  entire  city  and  could  not,  therefore,  be 
called  good  examples  of  city  planning  in  the  modern  sense. 

Interesting  as  may  be  these  old  plans  and  their  restoration 
on  paper,  and  profitable  as  their  study  may  be  to  the  archi- 
tect, they  oft'er  little  valuable  suggestion  to  modern  city  planners 
unless  it  be  a  caution  against  a  concentration  of  effort  to  pro- 
duce a  grand  climax  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  the  city.  The 
conspicuous  feature  of  the  twentieth  century  city  and  its  organ- 
ization is  the  consideration  given  to  provision  for  the  health, 
comfort,  convenience  and  recreation  of  all  of  the  citizens,  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  the  dweller  in  the  finest  residential  district 
and  the  denizen  of  the  slum,  although  it  is  conceded  that  the 


The  Planning  of  the  Modem  City 


modern  city  should  have  no  slums.  In  the  ancient  cities  the 
plans  of  which  are  most  studied,  the  number  of  free  citizens 
whose  interests  were  deemed  worthy  of  consideration  was 
very  small  in  comparison  with  the  slaves  who  made  up  the  great 
bulk  of  the  population,  but  who  had  no  rights  and  were  thought 
to  be  entitled  to  little  regard;  yet  art  and  architecture 
flourished.  The  members  of  the  smaller  ruling  class  thought 
nothing  too  fine  for  their  city,  and  we,  in  our  admiration  of  the 
masterpieces  they  created,  forget  how  the  submerged  nine- 
tenths  lived  and  the  small  consideration  shown  for  them.  In 
view  of  the  vastly  different  conditions  which  exist  to-day, 
when  the  welfare  of  the  submerged  fraction,  be  it  large  or  small, 
is  one  of  the  chief  concerns  in  city  planning  and  administration, 
it  is  obviously  unwise  to  look  to  the  alleged  restorations  of  these 
ancient  cities  for  illustrations  of  the  fundamental  or  constructive 
work  of  city  planning  or  the  work  which  would  naturally  be 
done  by  the  engineer. 

Other  sources  quite  generally  drawn  upon  by  writers  on  city 
planning  are  the  medieval  cities  of  Europe,  more  particularly 
those  of  Germany,  France  and  northern  Italy,  the  chief  build- 
ings of  which,  castles,  churches  and  town  halls,  are  often  so 
effectively  grouped  about  squares  or  "  places  "  which  are  now 
considered  masterpieces  of  city  planning.  Mr.  RaNinond 
Unwin  observes  that  the  charm  of  these  old  towns  is  not  due 
to  the  better  plan  of  their  streets,  but  to  the  dignity  and  individ- 
uality of  the  buildings.  The  object  seemed  to  be  to  do  work 
well  and  that  it  should  look  well  when  done.  Time  has  mellowed 
the  colors  and  sagging  beams  have  relieved  the  angularity. 
Compared  with  the  modem  suburb  with  its  freedom  to  do  as 
each  likes,  and  with  the  obvious  lack  of  serious  effort  to  adapt 
each  building  to  its  site  and  surroundings,  these  old  towns  are 
beautiful.  But  the  social  conditions  prevailing  in  such  towns  at 
the  time  these  much  admired  "places"  or  groups  were  created, 
while  far  better  than  those  in  the  cities  of  anti(iuity,  were  very 
different  from  those  which  must  be  provided  to-day.  It  is 
true  that  efficient  administration  has  effected  an  adaptation  of 


Introductory  5 

these  old  plans  to  modern  social  conditions,  has  preserved  the 
old  and  has  made  the  new  conform  with  it  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  preserve  the  character  of  the  town  and  the  local  color  without 
impairing  or  curtailing  the  rights  or  the  enjoyment  of  the  masses 
other  than  to  such  a  degree  as  is  necessary  to  prevent  abuse 
of  or  injury  to  public  or  private  property,  a  lesson  which  it 
appears  very  difl&cult  to  impress  upon  those  for  the  betterment 
of  whose  condition  most  writers  on  city  plarming  appear  to  be 
chiefly  concerned.  This  is  conspicuously  the  case  in  the  United 
States,  where  citizens  of  foreign  birth  and  descent,  who  have 
some  knowledge  of  the  municipal  administrative  methods 
and  accomplishments  in  the  Old  World,  are  insistent  in  their 
demands  that  the  same  things  be  done  in  American  cities,  but 
are  at  the  same  time  indignantly  resentful  of  the  restrictions 
upon  the  use  of  private  property  or  even  the  improper  use  and 
occupation  of  pubHc  streets,  parks  and  buildings,  which  are 
so  rigidly  enforced  in  the  cities  of  their  native  lands  and  upon 
the  enforcement  of  which  the  attainment  of  these  results  are 
in  large  degree  dependent. 

While  some  of  the  illustrations  of  the  subjects  discussed 
have  been  drawn  from  European  and  South  American  cities, 
most  of  them  are  taken  from  those  of  the  United  States,  and  it 
may  be  thought  that  New  York  and  other  eastern  cities  are 
given  undue  prominence.  This  does  not  mean  that  conspicuous 
progress  in  the  solution  of  city  planning  problems  has  not  been 
made  in  other  cities.  In  fact,  some  of  the  most  notable  under- 
takings and  accomplishments  of  this  kind  have  been  in  the 
smaller  towns  of  the  interior,  where  the  people  appear  to  be  more 
ready  to  appreciate  a  new  idea,  to  realize  a  change  in  conditions 
and  to  adopt  and  carry  out  plans  for  readjustment  than  is  the 
case  in  the  more  conservative  towns  along  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
While  most  of  the  Hterature  of  the  subject,  even  that  produced 
by  American  writers,  abounds  in  references  to  and  illustrations 
of  the  cities  of  the  Old  World,  and  while  some  of  these  writers 
appear  to  believe  them  to  be  the  only  models  worthy  of  being 
followed  and  that  American  cities  can  best  be  used  as  examples 


6  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

of  what  should  be  avoided,  the  author  is  convinced  that  the  cities 
and  towns  of  the  Western  World  afford  ver)'  many  examples 
of  sane  and  reasonable  planning  as  well  as  of  the  things  that 
should  not  be  done.  Perhaps  more  of  the  text  and  illustrations 
would  have  been  devoted  to  the  cities  of  Europe  had  it  not  been 
for  the  difficulty  of  securing  reliable  data  at  the  time  these 
pages  were  written.  Then,  too,  the  fact  that  the  countries  which 
have  contributed  so  much  that  is  admirable  and  worthy  of 
imitation  in  city  planning,  and  especially  in  city  administration, 
have  for  the  time  abandoned  their  constructive  work  to  engage 
in  one  of  destruction,  that  many  of  the  public  squares  which 
have  been  so  much  praised  and  so  freely  draxNTi  upon  for  illus- 
trations are  now  littered  with  the  ruins  of  the  imposing  buildings, 
churches,  libraries,  universities  and  town  halls,  which  surrounded 
them  and  gave  them  their  character  and  distinction,  makes 
one  somewhat  reluctant  to  speak  about  them.  When  the  war 
frenzy  shall  have  passed  and  the  period  of  reconstruction  and 
readjustment  shall  have  arrived  there  will  be  an  opportunity  to 
see  how  those  people  who  have  won  the  praise  of  the  world  as 
city  planners  and  builders  will  go  about  the  task  of  rebuilding 
that  awaits  them,  a  task  rendered  especially  difficult  by  reason 
of  the  impoverished  condition  and  the  exhaustion  which  will 
follow  this  carnival  of  waste  and  destruction.  It  will  be  inter- 
esting to  see  to  what  extent  an  effort  will  be  made  to  reproduce 
the  old,  picturesque  effects  with  some  of  their  attendant  incon- 
venience and  to  what  extent  changed  commercial  and  economic 
conditions  will  prompt  an  adaptation  to  modern  methods  of 
living  and  conducting  both  public  and  private  business. 

While  it  would  be  unfair  and  misleading  to  say  that  much 
which  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of  city  planning  is  inac- 
curate, it  is  true  that  much  has  been  presented  on  hearsay,  and 
statistics  have  frequently  been  given  that  are  obviously  incor- 
rect or  at  least  misleading.  They  were  undoubtedly  thought 
to  be  entirely  trustworthy  and  to  verify  them  would  have  in- 
volved much  time  and  trouble,  a  fact  of  which  the  writrr  of 
these   pages   has   been    made   p;iiiifull\'    aware.     Some   writers 


Introductory  7 

have  indulged  in  savage  criticism  of  what  they  have  observed 
or  been  told  about  conditions  in  other  countries  or  cities,  much 
of  which  is  due  to  misunderstanding  or  misinformation,  and 
they  appear  to  derive  more  satisfaction  from  denunciation  than 
from  commendation,  yet  some  of  these  conditions  and  practices, 
while  at  variance  with  the  ideas  of  the  critic,  may  be  fully 
justified  by  the  circumstances. 

Much  information  must  be  secured  at  second  hand  or  by 
correspondence.  When  inquiries  are  addressed  to  foreign 
cities  either  they  or  the  repHes  to  them  are  frequently  misunder- 
stood, but,  after  making  an  effort  to  secure  pertinent  information, 
the  temptation  to  use  such  as  may  be  obtained,  even  though 
not  entirely  satisfied  as  to  its  complete  accuracy,  is  very  strong. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  in  some  cases  the  data  given  in  the 
following  chapters  may  be  found  to  be  somewhat  incomplete  or 
defective,  but  the  author  has  made  every  effort  to  insure  their 
accuracy,  and,  where  believed  to  be  doubtful,  statistics  which 
it  was  desired  to  include  have  been  omitted.  An  effort  has 
been  made  to  distinguish  between  facts  and  opinions,  and, 
where  opinions  are  given,  they  are  not  presented  as  conclusions 
which  settle  questions  under  discussion.  Where  the  opinions 
or  conclusions  of  others  or  data  compiled  from  them  are  used, 
the  authority  for  them  has  been  stated,  but  in  going  over  the 
literature  of  any  subject  it  frequently  may  happen  that  such 
opinions  or  conclusions  coincide  with  those  which  one  has  already 
formed ,  and  the  expression  of  them  may  conform  so  closely  with 
the  language  used  by  others  that  the  reader  may  think  that  they 
have  been  appropriated  without  credit.  In  some  cases  the 
opinions  of  leading  authorities  may  have  been  so  often  quoted 
and  accepted  that  one  comes  to  believe  that  they  were  his  own 
from  the  beginning.  If  such  instances  occur  in  this  volume  it 
is  the  hope  of  the  author  that  they  will  be  attributed  to  the  in- 
fluence w^hich  the  master  exercises  upon  the  student,  and  of 
which  the  latter  is  sometimes  unconscious,  and  not  to  a  dis- 
position to  appropriate  the  ideas  of  others  and  put  them  forward 
as  his  own. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE   CITY   PLAXXIXG   MOVEMENT 

(  ^  I  ^HE  wide  interest  in  city  planning  which  has  lately  mani- 
■^  fested  itself  all  over  Europe  and  America  indicates  quite 
clearly  that  it  is  a  subject  in  which  the  people  generally  are 
interested;  not  only  those  who  live  in  large  cities,  which  may 
undertake  some  costly  and  pretentious  schemes  of  improve- 
ment, but  dwellers  in  the  small  towns  and  even  villages  are 
eager  for  information  upon  the  subject  and  are  ready  to  devote 
their  time  and  energy  to  the  study  of  plans  to  make  their  com- 
munities more  orderly  and  attractive.  Conferences  and  exhibits 
are  frequent  and  largely  attended  whether  in  Europe  or  America, 
books  and  magazine  articles  upon  the  subject  appear  at  short 
intervals,  and  one  quarterly  publication  is  devoted  exclusively 
to  the  subject  of  "  Town  Planning."/  The  National  Conference 
on  City  Planning  of  the  United  States  holds  annual  meetings 
which  bring  together  large  numbers  of  engineers,  architects 
and  landscape  architects,  who  may  be  called  professional  city 
planners,  together  with  city  officials  and  others  who  have  shown 
keen  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  subject,  and  the  British 
Town  Planning  Institute,  more  recently  organized  with  head- 
quarters in  London,  holds  frequent  meetings  for  addresses  and 
discussions.  A  great  international  town  planning  conference 
was  held  in  London  in  1910  and  others,  less  international  in  char- 
acter, have  been  held  in  Berlin  and  Leipzig.  At  the  Congress 
of  Cities  in  Ghent,  in  19 13,  much  attention  was  given  to  the 
subject,  and  a  special  exhibition  of  town  planning,  organized  by 
Professor  Patrick  Geddes,  of  Edinburgh,'  was  a  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  exposition  held  in  that  city  during  the  same 

'  This  entire  exhibition  was  unfortunately  lost  through  the  sinking  by  ihc 
German  cruiser  "  Emdcn  "  of  the  ship  in  which  it  was  being  taken  to  India  in  the 
autumn  of  19:4. 

8 


The  City  Planning  Movement  9 

year,  although  both  the  congress  and  the  exhibition  were 
devoted  chiefly  to  the  sociological  aspects  of  the  subject.  An 
excellent  exhibition  was  also  held  in  New  York  at  the  close  of 
1 913,  the  amount  of  material  furnished  for  which  far  exceeded 
the  space  available  for  its  display. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  meetings  and  discussions  and 
the  great  amount  that  has  been  written  and  said,  there  seems 
to  be  more  or  less  uncertainty  as  to  just  what  city  planning  or 
town  planning  means.  Some  appear  to  consider  it  the  design- 
ing of  spectacular  effects  in  the  grouping  of  public  buildings  and 
the  establishment  of  civic  centers,  the  creation  of  imposing  open 
spaces,  the  cutting  through  of  broad  avenues  or  the  straight- 
ening and  widening  of  existing  streets,  the  reorganization  and 
rearrangement  of  transit  facihties  and  terminals,  in  short,  the 
rebuilding  or  making  over  of  cities  and  towns.  These  might 
more  properly  be  called  the  correction  of  mistakes  or  the  remedy- 
ing of  defects  due  to  a  lack  of  proper  planning,  rather  than  the 
more  fundamental  work  of  city  planning  which  should  have  as 
its  chief  object  the  avoidance  of  the  necessity  of  costly  recon- 
struction. What,  then,  is  city  planning?  Many  definitions 
have  been  written,  some  long  and  some  short,  some  emphasizing 
the  architectural  and  artistic  side  and  others  laying  chief  stress 
upon  its  social  aspects,  but  few  of  them  appear  to  recognize  it 
as  an  engineering  problem. 

Mr.  George  McAneny,  who  has  rendered  distinguished 
service  as  President  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  and  President 
of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  of  New  York  city,  says:  "  City 
planning  simply  means  getting  ready  for  the  future  in  city 
growth.  It  is  the  guidance  into  proper  channels  of  a  commu- 
nity's impulses  towards  a  larger  and  broader  life.  On  the  face 
it  has  to  do  with  things  physical— the  laying  out  of  streets  and 
parks  and  rapid-transit  Hnes.  But  its  real  significance  is  far 
deeper;  a  proper  city  plan  has  a  powerful  influence  for  good 
upon  the  mental  and  moral  development  of  the  people.  It 
is  the  firm  base  for  the  building  of  a  healthy  and  happy 
community." 


10  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Mr.  Charles  Mulford  Robinson  says:  "  City  planning  is 
an  efTort  to  promote  urban  eftkiency  by  the  closest  practicable 
adaptation  to  function  in  the  city's  every  part.  Such  adapta- 
tion involves  pleasantness  of  aspect  because  the  city  serves  life 
and  is  a  home  as  well  as  a  workshop,  and  it  involves  physical 
and  social  fitness  as  well  as  commercial  and  industrial  cfilciency, 
partly  because  there  could  not  be  maximum  economic  efficiency 
without  such  aids  and  partly  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  life 
is  more  than  money  getting." 

Mr.  Arnold  W.  Brunner  says:  "  The  basic  principle  of  city 
planning  is  to  increase  the  working  efficiency  of  the  city.  No 
far-seeing  business  man  would  undertake  the  construction  of  a 
large  manufacturing  plant  without  making  provision  for  future 
expansion  and  other  possible  contingencies,  but  the  building  of 
a  city,  our  most  important  and  complicated  enterprise,  often 
proceeds  in  a  haphazard  fashion  without  preparation  for  change 
or  growth.  The  result  is  the  confusion  and  congestion  with 
which  we  are  all  so  familiar." 

Mr.  J.  P.  Hyncs  gives  this  definition:  "  City  planning  means 
the  anticipation  of  the  city's  development  and  providing  for  it, 
legislatively,  socially  and  financially,  before  the  demands  of  an 
increasing  population  become  prohibitive  in  cost.  The  reverse 
is  exemplified  in  congestion  of  population  and  traffic,  inadequate 
and  belated  public  works  and  uneconomic  financing  in  cities 
that  lacked  the  foresight  of  city  planning." 

Mr.  George  B,  Ford  defines  it  as  follows:  "  City  planning 
is  the  name  given  to  the  science  and  art  of  providing  for  the 
most  practical  and  agreeable  development  of  a  city  or  town.  It 
would  prevent  the  recurrence  in  newer  districts  of  the  mis- 
takes of  the  older.  It  would  profit  by  that  which  time  has  proved 
worth  while  in  the  experience  of  any  city.  It  would  determine 
the  relative  urgency  of  the  various  needs,  and  plan  a  consistent 
program  of  i)rocedure  covering  every  phase  of  the  subject.  It 
would  concentrate  on  these  matters  in  turn  and  get  concrete 
results." 

The  definition  frequently  used  by  the  author  has  one  merit, 


The  City  Planning  Movement  11 

that  of  brevity.  It  is  this:  City  planning  is  simply  the  exercise 
of  such  foresight  as  will  promote  the  orderly  and  sightly  develop- 
ment of  a  city  and  its  environs  along  rational  Hnes  with  due 
regard  for  health,  amenity  and  convenience  and  for  its  com- 
mercial and  industrial  advancement. 

While  the  inhabitants  of  any  country  are  usually  inclined 
to  think  their  own  institutions  and  customs  far  better  than, 
and  to  be  somewhat  intolerant  of,  those  of  other  countries, 
there  appears  to  be  a  disposition  to  attribute  peculiar  merit 
to  the  planning  of  the  cities  in  other  lands.  The  English,  for 
instance,  greatly  admire  the  wide  streets  and  the  effective 
grouping  of  buildings  in  German  cities,  while  the  Germans 
are  charmed  with  the  garden  villages  attached  to  some  of  the 
great  manufacturing  plants  in  England,  although  nowhere, 
perhaps,  have  more  attractive  homes  been  made  for  artisans, 
or  have  these  homes  been  arranged  in  a  more  pleasing  manner 
than  in  the  several  colonies  established  in  connection  with  the 
Krupp  works,  at  Essen.  American  writers  on  city  planning 
have  been  extravagant  in  their  praise  of  the  planning  and 
arrangement  of  Old-World  cities  and  are  constantly  comparing 
them  with  their  own  towns  to  the  great  disadvantage  of  the 
latter.  Such  unfavorable  comparisons  are  too  frequently  jus- 
tified, and  yet  some  admirable  things  in  the  way  of  planning 
have  been  and  are  being  done  in  the  cities  of  the  United  States. 
Can  this  tendency  be  attributable  to  a  sort  of  national  modesty, 
which  prompts  one  country  or  the  people  of  one  country  to 
admire  and  praise  what  has  been  done  in  another  country? 
Probably  not,  as  national  modesty  is  a  quality  rarely,  if  ever, 
manifested.  It  seems  to  be  due,  rather,  to  an  almost  universal 
disposition  to  be  attracted  by  and  to  admire  effects  with  which 
one  is  unfamiliar,  provided  they  do  not  too  violently  offend 
certain  customs  and  standards  which  are  so  ingrained  as  to  have 
become  habits.  When  the  tall  buildings  were  first  erected  in 
American  cities  they  were  declared  to  be  monstrosities,  not 
only  by  visitors  from  abroad,  but  by  most  Americans.  The 
architects,  except  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  secure 


12  The  Planning  of  the  Modem  City 


commissions  to  design  one  or  more  of  them,  were  especially 
offended,  as  they  were  held  to  \-iolate  the  most  sacred  archi- 
tectural traditions.  As  the  character  of  their  design  improved, 
and  some  really  beautiful  effects  were  produced,  the  American 
architects  were  still  severely  critical,  and  it  was  not  until  for- 
eigners began  to  admit  that  many  of  these  buildings  were  really 
beautiful  that  Americans  began  to  realize  that  they  had  pro- 
duced something  which  was  admirable.  (PI.  i.)  That  the 
erection  of  buildings  twenty,  thirty  and  forty  stories  high, 
close  together  along  streets  of  ordinar>'  width  has  had  a  very 
serious  effect  upon  traffic  and  other  conditions  and  that  they 
have  injuriously  affected  each  other  as  far  as  hght  and  air  are 
concerned  (PI.  2)  and  that  they  have  seriously  impaired  the 
land  values  is  only  too  evident,  and  New  York  and  other  cities 
are  now  struggling  with  the  problem  of  controlling  the  height, 
bulk  and  arrangement  of  buildings,  as  will  be  told  in  a  later 
chapter.  The  tall  buildings  themselves,  so  far  as  their  appear- 
ance is  concerned,  are  not  altogether  condemned.  One  well- 
known  architect  has  enumerated  three  points  in  their  favor — 
their  beauty  in  the  aggregate  is  most  impressive,  they  represent 
a  distinctive  type  of  national  architecture,  and  they  have  become 
the  artistic  expression  of  a  commercial  necessity. 

Professor  Patrick  Abercrombie.  in  the  pages  of  the  Town 
Planning  Renew,  has  made  a  number  of  interesting  comments 
on  the  achievements  and  salient  points  of  city  planning  in  dif- 
ferent countries,  some  of  which  will  be  briefly  abstracted.' 

Sweden  was,  perhaps,  the  first  countr}-  to  enact  a  compre- 
hensive town  planning  law,  which  ai)i)ears  to  be  based  upon  the 
assumption  that  a  plan  is  requisite  for  every  town.  The  results 
obtained  through  the  application  of  this  act  may  be  subject  to 
criticism  in  that  the  insistence  ui)on  wide  streets  has  tended 
towards  a  monotonous  gridiron  t}'pe,  which  in  some  cases  has 
been  forced  upon  the  old  and  irregular  parts  of  the  cities. 

Germany  has,  perhaps,  achieved  more  modern  town  planning 
than  any  other  countr}',  and  yet,  if  judged  by  legislation,  tlie 
•  Timtt  Planning  Reviru\     \o\.  IV.,  p.  gS. 


PLATE  1 


iiililh'i  ■|ihiMlllir''-"'-"Ti ' "' 


The  sky  line  of  lower  Manhattan  Island,  New  York.  The  views,  beginning 
at  the  top,  show  conditions  in  1876,  1803,  1904  and  IQ15.  The  smaller  scale  of 
the  1915  view  fails  to  show  the  great  increase  in  the  mass  of  buildings  during 
the  last  period  (p,  12). 


PLATE  2 


Some  cx.implis  dt  the  way  in  whit  h  Maiiliattaii  l>laiul,  New  Vurk  City, 
has  biin  <levil(i|)i(l,  making  the  widening  of  slrctls  inipussibic  on  account  of 
the  great  expense  (p.  12). 


The  City  Planning  Movement  13 

German  municipalities  appear  to  possess  very  limited  powers, 
but  in  Germany  town  planning  is  a  tradition,  and  the  desir- 
ability of  it  is  never  questioned.  Conspicuous  features  of  Ger- 
man planning  are:  Zoning,  by  which  the  erection  of  lofty  tene- 
ments has  been  restricted;  the  practice  of  converting  old  forti- 
fications into  wide  circumferential  streets,  as  in  Bremen  and 
Cologne,  but  which  has  been  conspicuously  neglected  in  Berlin; 
the  careful  preservation  of  the  ancient  centers  of  the  city  as  in 
Frankfort  and  Nuremburg;  the  acquisition  of  large  tracts  of 
land  outside  the  city,  which  in  Strassburg  is  said  to  be  equiva- 
lent to  a  plot  57  feet  square  to  each  inhabitant,  in  Ulm  to 
80  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  city  and  its  immediate 
suburbs  and  in  Berlin  to  three  times  the  area  of  the  city.  The 
"  Lex  Adickes "  gives  the  municipal  authorities  power  to 
redistribute  land  which,  as  originally  divided,  may  have  been 
rendered  practically  useless  by  the  adoption  of  a  street  system, 
the  land  remaining  after  providing  for  streets  and  open  spaces 
being  redistributed  in  useable  portions.  This  law,  which 
appears  to  meet  a  situation,  the  difficulty  of  which  has  long 
been  recognized  in  other  countries,  was  devised  by  and  bears 
the  name  of  a  distinguished  municipal  officer  of  a  German 
city. 

Austria  is  essentially  German  in  its  treatment  of  town 
planning  problems,  but  Vienna,  the  Austrian  capital,  is  a  city 
in  its  own  class.  Its  Ringstrasse,  located  on  ground  formerly 
devoted  to  the  inner  fortifications,  is  one  of  the  most  notable 
streets  in  the  world.  A  second  ring  street  has  been  pro\'ided 
on  the  fine  of  the  outer  fortifications,  while  there  is  again  a  ring 
of  meadow  and  beyond  that  a  ring  of  wooded  hills. 

France  has  paid  more  attention  to  the  physical  construction 
of  its  cities  than  to  their  organization,  and  has  laid  more  stress 
upon  the  monumental  and  architectural  aspects  of  the  street 
plan  than  upon  picturesque  effects.  No  city  has  provided  as 
well  as  Paris  for  direct  exits  from  and  approaches  to  the  city, 
although  several  of  her  great  boulevards  were  originally  con- 
structed as  private  drives  for  royalty.     Perhaps  the  Avenue  de 


14  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

r Opera  is  one  of  the  most  notable  achievements  of  city  planning 
by  the  construction  of  a  new  street  furnishing  an  impressive 
vista.  Trafl&c  planning  has  claimed  a  large  share  of  the  attention 
of  students  of  city  planning  in  France. 

England  has  been  very  backward  in  what  is  known  as  modem 
town  planning,  particularly  in  its  monumental  aspects.  Scarcely 
a  single  great  building  has  been  provided  with  an  adequate 
site  and  approach  in  modem  times,  while  failure  to  pro\dde  for 
traffic  needs  has  been  most  conspicuous,  and  yet  it  is  the  English 
individual  home,  which  has  been  rehgiously  protected  for  gen- 
erations, which  appears  to  be  the  moving  spirit  in  most  of  the 
town  planning  of  the  last  decade. 

In  Belgium  the  strong  individuality  of  the  different  towns, 
Brussels,  Antwerp,  Ghent  and  Bruges  is  conspicuous.  Recent 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  Brussels,  however,  appear  to  have 
derived  their  inspiration  from  Paris. 

Italy  has  not  been  behind  its  neighboring  countries  in  city 
planning  or  in  legislation  directed  to  that  end.  The  Italian 
cities  possess  powers  of  expropriation  which  have  been  found  to 
be  exceedingly  valuable,  and  these  powers  have  been  exercised 
in  a  wise  fashion,  enabling  the  authorities  to  recoup  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  cost  of  new  public  works. 

In  the  South  American  cities  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Buenos 
Aires  some  ambitious  projects  have  been  carried  out,  particularly 
the  cutting  through  of  new  streets  and  the  creation  of  great 
boulevards  along  the  water  front,  which  have  made  these  cities 
among  the  most  notable  in  the  world. 

In  America  three  conspicuous  features  of  town  planning 
are  emphasized:  first,  the  devotion  to  the  gridiron  plan,  which 
has  been  described  as  a  "  scientific  nightmare  in  which  squares 
are  carried  over  the  whole  country  irrespective  of  natural  zones 
and  contours  and  in  comparison  with  which  the  lack  of  planning 
which  formerly  prevailed  in  England  is  admirable";  second, 
the  great  number  of  monumental  projects  which  have  lately 
been  put  forward,  many  of  them  most  imposing  and  beautiful, 
while  traffic  improvements  have  been  conspicuously  successful; 


The  City  Planning  Movement  15 

third,  the  scientific  provision  for  recreation  which  has  lately 
been  made  in  many  American  cities. 

While  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  characteristics  of  city 
planning  in  various  countries,  as  interpreted  by  students  of  the 
subject,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples underlying  the  planning  of  all  cities  are  practically  the 
same,  although  the  method  of  their  expression  may  differ. 
Such  method  may  be  the  result  of  habit  or  of  local  tradition 
rather  than  of  painstaking  investigation  and  it  is  frequently 
admired  because  it  is  somewhat  different  from  that  to  which 
we  are  accustomed,  but,  as  Mr.  A.  T.  Edwards  observes,  "  pa- 
rochial art  is  invariably  second  rate."  He  further  remarks 
that  "  while  there  is  town  planning  in  England,  town  planning 
in  Germany,  town  planning  in  France,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  English,  German  or  French  town  planning  any  more 
than  there  are  English,  German  or  French  sciences  of  arith- 
metic." 

Perhaps  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  city  planning  which 
is  now  being  done  in  America  is  chiefly  confined  to  projects 
covering  very  restricted  areas,  the  designs  for  which  are  usually 
made  by  a  single  man  or  a  small  group  of  men,  architects,  land- 
scape architects  and  occasionally  engineers  being  associated 
together.  The  gradual  development  of  a  beautiful  city,  like 
some  of  the  old  towns  of  Europe,  through  the  painstaking  work 
of  many  individuals  of  successive  generations,  all  of  whom  had 
an  intense  pride  in  their  city,  is  practically  unknown.  The 
spirit  which  produced  the  old  towns  so  frequently  found  on  the 
Continent  appears  to  be  lost.  A  desire  to  do  the  work  well, 
rather  than  quickly  or  cheaply,  has  given  place  to  the  ambition 
to  do  as  little  work  as  possible  for  the  day's  wage.  The  wage  is 
standardized  and  is  paid  for  so  many  hours  of  work  without 
regard  to  quantity  or  quaUty.  The  idea  of  work  for  work's 
sake,  the  devotional  feehng  on  the  part  of  the  workman  who 
carved  the  pillar  of  a  church  or  some  detail  not  often  noticed 
by  the  casual  observer  appears  now  to  be  regarded  as  a  senti- 
mental weakness.     Will  the  old  spirit  ever  return,  and  can  the 


16  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


fine  old  towns  of  Continental  Europe  again  be  produced  with- 
out that  spirit? 

There  is  a  deplorable  lack  of  originality  in  many  of  the  city 
planning  schemes  which  are  constantly  being  advocated.  The 
designers  are  too  prone  to  try  to  reproduce  some  public  square 
or  "  grand  place  "  which  may  arouse  well-merited  admiration 
in  the  town  in  which  it  is  located,  but  which  may  be  entirely 
incongruous  in  a  modern  American  city.  Most  of  the  towns 
which  are  so  greatly  admired  owe  their  pecuHar  attraction  to 
some  special  quahty  which  is  closely  related  to  their  history 
and  environment,  to  the  nature  of  the  scenery  about  them,  to 
the  customs  of  their  people,  to  the  type  of  their  industries  or 
even  to  the  color  of  their  building  material.  In  the  gray  old 
EngUsh  towns  a  bit  of  brilliant  color  appears  incongruous.  The 
"  rose-red  town  of  Inverness  "  has  a  peculiar  charm  due  to  the 
color  of  the  stone  so  generally  used  in  the  construction  of  its 
buildings.  Now  that  any  town  can  draw  upon  the  building 
materials  of  an  entire  country  or  even  of  foreign  countries  that 
consistent  harmony  of  color  no  longer  exists.  An  attempt  to 
transplant  a  picturesque  bit  of  Rothenburg  to  the  plains  of 
Long  Island  or  to  the  prairies  of  the  Mississippi  valley  would  be 
absurd;  a  Venetian  "  piazza  "  in  Pittsburgh  or  Omaha  would 
be  grotesque.  "  Don't  copy  Europe  "  is  the  advice  given  to 
American  city  planners  by  no  less  an  authority  than  Dr.  Werner 
Hegeman,  of  BerUn. 

A  rational  city  plan  is  inevitably  of  slow  growth  and,  while 
there  seems  to  be  a  pasionate  desire  at  the  present  time  to  correct 
at  once  such  obvious  defects  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  plans  of 
most  of  the  cities  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  and 
from  which  those  of  Continental  Europe  are  by  no  means  free, 
the  task  is  too  great  for  any  one  man  or  group  of  men,  or  even 
for  any  one  generation,  and  there  is  danger  that,  recognizing  the 
futiUty  of  the  attempt,  and  staggered  by  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking,  interest  will  be  lost  and  we  will  go  on  repeating  our 
old  mistakes.  As  Professor  Eberstadt  says:  "  Town  planning 
rushed  at  too  huriedly  or  pursued  inadvisedly  may  turn  out  to 


The  City  Planning  Movement  17 

be  an  instrument  of  greater  danger  than  a  mere  leaving  to  chance 
the  growth  of  our  cities." 

The  city -planning  movement,  as  it  is  now  generally  under- 
stood in  America,  may  be  said  to  date  from  1893,  when  the 
"  white  city,"  created  by  the  genius  of  the  late  Daniel  H.  Burn- 
ham  and  an  able  group  of  associates  for  the  international  exposi- 
tion held  that  year  in  Chicago,  made  a  profound  impression  upon 
all  who  saw  it.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  such  effective  grouping  of 
a  series  of  monumental  buildings  of  harmonious  design  had 
never  before  been  accomphshed  or  even  attempted  and,  while 
the  buildings  themselves  were  temporary,  the  effect  which  they 
produced  has  been  permanent,  and  the  influence  of  the  general 
plan  is  quite  evident  in  most  of  the  ambitious  projects  for  the 
creation  of  civic  centers  which  have  since  been  put  forward. 
In  every  great  exposition  which  has  since  been  held  this  effective 
grouping  of  the  buildings  has  been  followed  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  and  with  the  introduction  of  lagoons  and  canals  and  the 
wonderful  improvements  in  the  art  of  electric  Hghting,  the 
results  have  been  so  beautiful  that  they  have  given  a  new  im- 
petus to  what  is  commonly  called  city  planning. 

The  British,  who  have  developed  great  enthusiasm  over  town 
planning,  appear  to  have  acquired  a  more  fundamental  con- 
ception of  what  planning  really  means,  in  that  they  are  devot- 
ing their  attention  chiefly  to  the  territory  not  yet  developed  in 
an  effort  to  avoid  such  blunders  as  have  been  made  in  the  past, 
rather  than  trying  to  make  their  towns  over,  or,  when  that  is 
found  to  be  impossible,  to  create  one  or  two  beauty  spots  or 
show  places  and  stop  there.  They  are  trying  to  save  the  un- 
spoiled places  rather  than  devoting  their  attention  to  costly 
schemes  of  reconstruction  while  fresh  mistakes  are  being  made 
elsewhere,  the  latter  pohcy  being  the  one  too  often  followed  in 
the  United  States.  The  town  planning  legislation  of  Great 
Britain,  the  underlying  principles  of  these  acts  and  what  has 
been  accomplished  under  them,  are  discussed  at  some  length  in 
other  chapters. 

There  are  many  who  beHeve  that  the  chief  purposes  of  city 


18  The  Planning  of  the  Modem  City 

planning  are  social,  that  problems  of  housing,  the  provision  of 
recreation  and  amusement  for  the  people,  the  control  and  even 
the  ownership  and  operation  of  all  pubhc  utilities,  the  establish- 
ment and  conduct  of  public  markets,  the  collection  and  dis- 
posal of  wastes,  the  protection  of  public  health,  the  building  of 
hospitals,  the  care  of  paupers,  criminals  and  the  insane,  and  all 
of  the  other  activities  of  the  modern  city  are  all  a  part  of  city 
planning.  All  of  these,  however,  are  matters  of  administration 
rather  than  of  planning  in  the  sense  that  it  will  be  considered  in 
this  volume  and,  while  some  of  them  may  be  referred  to  in  the 
succeeding  chapters,  the  author's  intent  is  to  do  so  only  as  they 
are  related  to  the  more  fundamental  problems  of  so  planning 
a  city  that  the  necessary  buildings  or  the  space  required  for 
them  may  be  provided  without  the  destruction  of  improvements 
already  made  or  a  recasting  of  the  plan,  so  that  good  sanita- 
tion and  decent  housing  and  all  that  makes  a  city  a  better  place 
to  Hve  in  will  be  made  easy  rather  than  difficult.  While  the 
author  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  all  movements  that  will 
promote  better  living,  a  finer  citizenship  and  greater  culture 
and  that  will  give  every  citizen  an  equal  chance  to  enjoy  the 
advantages  which  may  be  provided,  the  chief  emphasis  will 
be  placed  upon  the  initial  work  of  planning  which  will  make  all 
^of  these  easier  of  attainment. 

There  have  been  times  when  the  opinion  quite  generally 
prevailed  that  the  city  was  a  necessary  evil,  that  it  was  an  un- 
natural and  unwholesome  thing  for  large  numbers  of  people  to 
be  gathered  together  within  the  confines  of  a  city.  Mr.  Walter 
E.  Weyl,  writing  in  Harper's  Magazine  for  April,  191 5,  says 
that  to  "  the  fathers  "  the  very  conception  of  the  city  had  in  it 
something  unwholesome.  It  was  in  their  opinion  "adwelHng 
place  of  turbulent,  impious,  impudent  mobs,  of  a  congregation 
of  unproductive  artizans,  wastrals,  criminals,  Sabbath  breakers. 
It  was  a  bUster  on  the  social  body;  a  tumor  which  absorbed  the 
healthy  juices.  The  city  was  vaguely  associated  with  royalties, 
courts,  armies,  beggars,  and  tattered,  insolent,  rescally  mobs; 
the  country  was  the  cradle  of  republican  virtue  and  democratic 


The  City  Planning  Movement  19 

simplicity.  Jefferson,  having  in  mind  the  squaKd  agglomerations 
of  the  old  countries,  congratulated  America  on  being  rural." 
He  further  says:  "  For  the  most  part  the  ancient  city,  whether 
great  or  small,  Hved  parasitically  on  the  country.  It  was  the 
abode  of  exploiters,  princes,  landlords.  Rome  rendered  nothing 
to  Egypt  for  the  corn  which  it  took  from  Egypt.  The  modern 
city  renders  service  commensurate  with  the  service  rendered  to 
it.  It  fashions  in  its  factories  the  products  of  the  country  and 
redistributes  them  to  a  wide  nation,  economically  dependent." 

Under  modern  social  conditions  with  the  subdivision  of 
labor  and  a  high  degree  of  speciaHzation,  each  individual  doing 
one  thing  fairly  well,  if  not  expertly,  and  depending  upon  others 
for  the  things  he  does  not  do  himself,  urban  living  is  a  natural 
condition.  Whether  the  very  large  cities  will  continue  to  in- 
crease as  they  hava»during  the  recent  past  may  be  doubted,  and 
estimates  of  future  population,  based  upon  such  increase, 
may  be  very  misleading.  That  the  percentage  of  urban  popula- 
tion will  continue  to  increase  is  probable,  if  not  certain,  but  that 
the  very  large  urban  units  will  go  on  increasing  at  the  sensa- 
tional rate  of  the  last  few  decades  is  unhkely.  A  certain  degree 
of  decentraHzation  would  probably  be  desirable,  resulting  in  more 
towns  of  moderate  size  and  proportionately  few  very  large 
cities,  even  though  some  of  the  towns  may  be  so  near  together 
as  to  make  it  economical  and  desirable  to  combine  in  the  carry- 
ing out  of  certain  enterprises  which  are  metropolitan  in  their 
nature,  such  as  water  supply,  main  drainage,  poUcing  and  the 
protection  of  public  health. 

In  1820  but  one  person  in  every  twenty  in  the  United  States 
Kved  in  cities  of  8000  or  over.  In  1850  this  proportion  had 
increased  to  one  in  eight,  in  1870  to  one  in  five  and  in  1900  to 
very  nearly  one  in  three.  The  drift  to  the  towns  continues,  as 
is  shown  by  Table  I,  which  is  compiled  from  the  United 
States  census  of  19 10.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  urban  population 
is  increasing  at  a  rate  more  than  three  times  that  of  the  rural 
population  and  that  in  19 10  one  in  every  two  and  two- tenths 
people  were  Hving  in  towns  of  2500  and  over.     While  the  very 


20 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City- 


large  cities  have  continued  to  increase  at  an  astonishing  rate 
it  will  be  observed  that  the  greatest  rate  of  increase  has  been 
in  the  case  of  the  cities  of  from  50,000  to  250,000  population. 

TABLE  I 

Showing  Rate  of  Increase  of  Urban  and  Rural  Population  in  the 
United  States  between  1900  and  19 10 


No.  OF 

Towns  in 
1910. 

Total  Population. 

Per  cent  of 

Population. 

1910. 

1900. 

Increase 
19QOT0  1910 

1,000,000  or  more 

500,000  to  1,000,000..  . 

250,000  to     500,000..  . 

100,000  to     250,000..  . 

50,000  to     100,000..  . 

25,000  to       50,000..  . 

10,000  to        25,000..  . 

5,000  to       10,000..  . 

2,500  to         5,000... 

Total  urban  population. . 

Rural  population 

Total  population  of  U.  S.. 

3 

S 

II 

31 

59 

120 

374 
629 

1,173 
2,405 

8,501,174 
3,010,667 

3,949,839 
4,840,458 

4,178,915 
4,062,763 
5,609,208 

4,364,703 

4,105,656 

42,623,383 

49,348,883 

91,972,266 

6,429,474 

2,501,226 

2,932,040 

3,421,849 

2,948,511 

3,028,007 

4,153,442 

3,194,278 

3,000,818 

31,609,645 

44,384,930 

75,994,575 

32.2 
20.4 
34-7 
41-5 
41-7 
34-2 
350 
36.6 
36.8 
34.8 
II  .2 
21.0 

On  July  first,  191 5,  the  census  bureau  estimated  that  of  the 
9,899,761  population  of  New  York  state,  54  per  cent  lived  in 
the  single  city  of  New  York  and  no  less  than  76  per  cent  hved 
in  cities  of  8000  or  over,  and  the  same  conditions,  though 
in  somewhat  less  degree,  exist  in  other  eastern  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Great  increases  in  urban  population  have  not 
been  confined  to  North  America.  Buenos  Aires,  which  now 
has  a  population  of  more  than  1,500,000,  and  Rio  de  Janiero 
with  nearly  1,000,000  have  both  been  increasing  at  a  consider- 
ably greater  rate  than  have  Chicago,  BerUn  or  Vienna.  The 
author  has  made  a  comparison  of  the  relative  rate  of  growth 
of  six  German  and  six  American  cities  which  had  approximately 
the  same  population  in  1880.  The  table  giving  the  results  has 
frequently  been  published,  sometimes  without  reference  to  its 
source,  but  they  are  so  remarkable  that  they  will  be  repeated 
here. 


The  City  Planning  Movement 


21 


TABLE  II 

Showing  the  Increase  in  Population  of  Six  German  and  Six  American 
Cities  from  1880  to  1910 


Population. 

Percentage  of 
Increase. 

Cities. 

1880 

1880 

1880 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

1910. 

TO 

1890. 

TO 
1900. 

TO 
I9IO. 

Cincinnati  .  . 

255,139 

296,309 

325,902 

364,463 

16. 1 

27.7 

42.8 

Breslau.  . .  . . 

272,900 

335,200 

422,728 

510,929 

22.8 

54-9 

87.0 

Buffalo 

155,000 

255,664 

352,387 

423,715 

65.0 

127. 1 

173-4 

Cologne 

144,800 

281,800 

372,229 

513,491 

94.6 

157-0 

254.6 

New  Orleans. 

216,000 

242,039 

287,104 

339,075 

12.0 

32.8 

56.9 

Dresden 

220,800 

276,500 

395,394 

546,822 

25.2 

79.0 

147. 1 

Louisville. . . . 

123,758 

161,005 

204,731 

223,928 

310 

654 

80.9 

Hanover .... 

122,800 

163,600 

235,666 

302,384 

33-2 

91 .0 

146.2 

Providence  .. 

104,850 

132,099 

175,597 

224,326 

26.0 

67-5 

II3-9 

Nuremberg.  . 

99,519 

142,523 

261,022 

332,539 

43-2 

162.3 

234  I 

Rochester.  .  . 

89,366 

133,896 

162,608 

218,149 

49.8 

82.0 

144. 1 

Chemnitz. .  .  . 

85,000 

138,955 

206,584 

286,455 

63-5 

143  0 

237-1 

The  cities  selected  were  believed  to  be  typical  and  did  not 
include  any  of  the  great  capitals.  They  were  selected  some 
years  ago  to  show  the  growth  during  the  first  of  the  three  dec- 
ades and  the  comparison  has  been  continued  to  include  the 
last  decennial  census.  Inasmuch  as  the  increase  of  population 
in  the  United  States  during  the  last  census  period  was  21  per 
cent,  while  the  increase  in  that  of  the  German  Empire  was  but 
16  per  cent,  the  movement  of  population  from  the  country  to 
the  cities  in  the  latter  country  appears  to  be  much  more  con- 
spicuous. The  remarkable  industrial  development  of  Germany 
may  be  the  chief  reason  for  this,  but  it  is  a  significant  fact  that 
the  German  cities  in  their  thorough  and  far-sighted  planning 
have  been  getting  ready  for  such  increases. 

It  is  quite  apparent  that  the  need  of  proper  city  planning 
is  not  confined  to  the  very  large  cities,  but  that  it  is  equally 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


important  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  cities  and  towns,  while 
they  also  present  greater  opportunities.  The  small  manu- 
facturing town  of  today  may  be  the  great  industrial  city  of 
tomorrow.  What  is  now  a  small  city  may  be  the  center  of  a 
metropolitan  district  during  the  next  generation.  In  some 
cases  such  growth  and  development  may  be  predicted  with  con- 
siderable confidence  and  planning  on  a  large  scale  would  be 
justified.  In  any  case  and  whatever  the  plan  may  be  such 
reasonable  foresight  can  be  exercised  as  will  permit  it  to  be 
adapted  to  the  new  conditions  with  as  little  disturbance  and 
destruction  of  improvements  as  possible.  The  important  thing 
is  that  the  work  of  planning  be  entrusted  to  men  of  vision  as 
well  as  technical  training  and  experience.  But  this  is  not  all 
that  is  necessary;  a  reasonable  plan  once  decided  upon  should 
be  adhered  to  in  its  essential  features  notwithstanding  the 
opposition  and  the  insistent  demands  for  a  departure  from 
it  which  are  Hkely  to  be  encountered  from  those  who  are  actu- 
ated by  selfish  interest  or  who  are  unable  to  look  beyond  their 
own  limited  horizon.  Former  President  Taft,  speaking  of  the 
plan  of  Washington,  says: 

"  Washington's  appointment  of  I'Enfant,  an  educated 
French  army  engineer,  to  lay  out  the  Capital  City  was  a  most 
lucky  circumstance  in  our  history.  L'Enfant's  plan  in  a  way 
resembles  the  Federal  Constitution.  That  great  instrument 
of  government  has  proven  itself  adaptable  to  a  change  of  con- 
ditions that  even  the  most  clear-sighted  man  of  affairs  could 
not  have  anticipated.  The  simple  comprehensiveness  of  its 
broad  lines  under  the  statesmanlike  interpretation  of  Marshall 
has  proved  equal  to  the  greatest  emergencies  and  the  most 
radical  crises  that  could  possibly  confront  a  nation.  So  Wash- 
ington and  I'Enfant  and  Jefferson  in  their  planning  for  Wash- 
ington have  left  a  framework  for  its  development  that  the  ablest 
architects  and  artists,  now  more  than  a  hundred  years  after 
the  plan  was  drawn  and  its  execution  begun,  have  confessed 
themselves  unable  to  improve.  The  plan  has  been  departed 
from  in  two  or  more  notable  instances  through  the  obstinacy  of 


The  City  Planning  Movement  23 

men  in  power  who  could  not  appreciate  its  admirable  qualities. 
Instead,  however,  of  manifesting  regret  at  these  we  should  be 
grateful  that  they  are  so  few  in  number,  and  that  we  are  still 
able  to  carry  out  the  plan  and  to  make  what  its  complete  execu- 
tion will  make  of  Washington — the  most  beautiful  city  in  the 
world.  The  reason  why  this  is  possible  is  because  it  has  never 
been  a  center  for  business  or  manufacture,  because  its  raison 
d'etre  is  only  to  provide  a  seat  for  government  activities  and  a 
home  for  pubHc  servants  who  carry  them  on.  It  is  thus  singu- 
larly free  in  its  opportunity  to  devote  its  energies  to  enhancing 
its  own  stateliness  and  acquiring  a  dignity  appropriate  to  the 
heart  of  our  national  sovereignty.  ...  In  its  history  Wash- 
ington city  has  had  to  Hve  through  the  day  of  small  things. 
The  plan  of  I'Enfant  met  the  obstinacy  and  lack  of  artistic 
sense  of  certain  legislators  who  closed  the  vista  between  the 
White  House  and  the  Capitol  by  insisting  upon  the  erection 
of  the  Treasury  across  the  hne  of  Pennsylvania  avenue.  Then 
later  on,  when  Congress  seemed  determined  to  minimize  every- 
thing national,  it  retroceded  to  Virginia  the  part  of  the  ten 
miles  square  on  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac  River  and  fur- 
nished substantial  proof  of  its  contracted  view  of  Washington's 
future." 

What  is  the  dominant  idea  behind  the  city-planning  move- 
ment as  we  see  it  in  the  United  States  today?  What  are  the 
ideals  which  the  average  city  planner  has  in  mind  and  what 
the  models  which  he  strives  to  emulate?  Beauty  has  hereto- 
fore been  his  chief  aim,  as  was  clearly  shown  by  the  frequent 
use  of  the  term  "  The  City  Beautiful,^'  which  was  formerly  so 
much  in  evidence  but  which  happily  is  now  more  seldom  heard. 
His  ideals  were  obtained  from  brief  visits  to  the  show-places 
of  foreign  cities  and  his  models  were  the  imposing  open  spaces, 
the  broad  streets,  the  well-designed  facades  and  the  fine  vistas 
so  frequently  found  in  them.  Beautiful  indeed  they  are;  but 
behind  these  attractive  fagades  and  as  the  price  paid  for  them 
and  the  wide  streets  on  which  they  front  most  distressing  living 
conditions  are  frequently  found.     Dr.  Hegeman  points  out  that 


24  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

in  remodeling  some  of  the  European  cities,  the  charms  of 
which  appear  to  dazzle  so  many  Americans,  only  beauty  and 
elegance  were  sought  and  that  "  to  the  production  of  this  metro- 
poHtan  elegance  the  most  refined  thought  was  given,  but  this 
thought  benefited  mainly  the  central  sections  of  these  capitah 
(the  parts  near  the  castles)  and  the  exterior  fagades  of  the  tene- 
ment houses.  Behind  these  good-looking  facades  miserable 
crowding,  lack  of  house  gardens  and  the  choking  of  the  next 
generation  were  permitted.  This  kind  of  city  planning  did  not 
attempt  to  make  comprehensive,  preconceived  plans,  cover- 
ing all  branches  of  city  growth,  but  touching  only  one  or  two 
aspects  (mainly  artistic),  exaggerated  their  importance  and 
did  nearly  as  much  harm  as  no  planning  at  all."  Seldom  does 
the  peripatetic  student  of  European  city  planning  look  for 
anything  except  these  particular  beauty  spots.  He  is  familiar 
with  the  unsightly  parts  of  his  own  home  city,  the  memory  of 
the  bare  ugHness  of  which  is  particularly  unpleasant  when  he 
looks  upon  the  most  notable  achievements  of  the  builders  of 
Old  World  cities.  He  forgets  the  newness  of  everything  at  home. 
He  does  not  look  forward  to  the  day  when  the  open  and  unim- 
proved spaces  between  the  scattered  groups  of  modest  dwelhngs 
will  be  completely  improved.  These  modest  dwelhngs,  though 
commonplace  in  appearance  and  monotonous  in  design,  house 
the  famihes  of  men  who  are  working  for  a  daily  wage  in  a  degree 
of  comfort  unknown  to  those  of  the  same  class  who  five  behind 
the  pretentious  fronts  which  line  many  of  the  streets  of  the 
city  he  is  visiting.  The  contrast  between  the  appearance  of 
the  more  important  business  thoroughfares  and  the  unpaved 
and  somewhat  ragged  streets  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
outlying  parts  of  some  American  cities  is  a  rather  painful 
memory,  but  the  comforts  which  are  found  in  the  dwelhngs 
more  than  compensate  for  their  less  impressive  exteriors.  The 
cheapness  of  wood  in  America,  the  rapidity  with  which  frame 
buildings  can  be  erected,  and  the  tolerance  of  the  use  of  com- 
bustible building  material  have  resulted  in  the  erection  of  a 
large  number  of  wooden  buildings  in  the  suburban  parts  of 


The  City  Planning  Movement  25 

American  cities  which,  with  the  stock  plans  so  frequently  used 
and  the  obtrusive  ughness  of  scroll-saw  applications,  resorted 
to  in  order  to  reheve  the  monotony  of  the  design,  have  given 
them  a  cheap  and  temporary  appearance  which  compares 
unfavorably  with  the  more  substantial  look  of  the  stone  and 
brick  dwellings  so  generally  found  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the 
Continent.  It  is  true  that  those  who  are  responsible  for  the 
planning  of  American  cities  have  been  slow  to  reahze  the  im- 
portance of  an  orderly  arrangement  of  the  fundamental  ground 
plan  or  of  the  system  of  main  streets  which  will  facilitate  easy 
movement  between  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  a  heavy  pen- 
alty must  some  day  be  paid  for  this  oversight  in  costly  street 
widenings  and  cutting  through  of  new  connections,  but  this 
has  been  characteristic  of  city  planning  the  world  over. 

Another  thing  that  must  be  borne  in  mind  when  considering 
the  pleasing  effects  of  the  centers  of  the  European  capitals  is 
that  they  were  planned  by  princes  to  whose  courts  were  attracted 
the  greatest  architects  and  artists  of  the  time,  and  their  ser- 
vices were  at  the  command  of  their  royal  masters,  who  them- 
selves were  men  of  cultivated  tastes  and  large  ideas,  and  were 
ambitious  to  create  a  capital  worthy  of  their  own  importance 
in  the  world.  If  they  could  also  secure  a  Minister  of  Finance 
who  had  the  genius  to  devise  the  means  to  wring  from  their 
subjects  the  money  to  carry  out  these  plans,  the  thing  was 
done.  When  the  people  themselves  are  called  upon  to  decide 
whether  they  will  furnish  the  funds  to  carry  out  such  ambitious 
schemes  they  are  likely  to  hesitate  a  long  time.  It  is  only  as  a 
result  of  a  campaign  of  education  which  will  convince  them  that 
a  proposed  improvement  will  bring  them  a  direct  return  through 
increased  business  or  in  some  other  material  way  that  they  can 
be  induced  to  undertake  it.  When  once  undertaken  its  execu- 
tion must  be  entrusted  to  the  duly  authorized  city  officials,  or 
a  special  commission  must  be  created  for  the  purpose.  The 
former  course  is  obviously  the  proper  one,  but  the  limited  periods 
during  which  such  officials  hold  office  in  American  cities  and 
the  disposition  of  a  new  man  or  group  of  men  to  make  changes. 


26  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

which  may  be  prompted  in  some  cases  by  considerations  of 
economy  and  in  others  by  a  desire  to  impress  their  own  individ- 
uality upon  the  scheme,  often  induce  and  appear  to  justify 

resort  to  a  special  commission.  . 

It  does  not  follow  that  a  plan  once  adopted  should  never  be 
changed  in  any  respect.  We  call  these  plans  comprehensive 
and  final.  If  really  comprehensive  they  should  be  adaptable 
to  changing  conditions  with  Httle,  if  any,  interference  with  the 
general  scheme;  but  final  in  all  details  they  never  can  be^ 
Mr.  Taft  has  noted  the  unfortunate  results  of  some  modifica- 
tions of  the  I'Enfant  plan  for  Washington,  but  the  plan  was  so 
simple,  yet  so  comprehensive,  in  its  main  features  that  it  could 
not  be  spoiled,  and  no  greater  tribute  to  its  excellence  could  be 
paid  than  the  action  of  the  Committee  of  Congress  to  which 
was  referred  the  question  of  the  improvement  of  the  capital 
city  in  recommending  that  in  most  of  the  cases  where  the 
I'Enfant  plan  had  been  departed  from  it  should  be  restored. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    CORRECTION    OF    MISTAKES 

IT  is  not  unfair  to  say  that  a  large  part  of  city  planning, 
too  large  a  part  in  fact,  consists  of  the  correction  of  mis- 
takes. This  is  not  unnatural  for  the  reason  that  it  is  the  reaHza- 
tion  of  the  blunders  that  have  been  made  through  lack  of  fore- 
sight or  appreciation  of  the  imsuitability  of  a  plan  under  changed 
conditions  that  has  rendered  the  need  of  better  planning  ob- 
vious. When  conditions  due  to  these  mistakes  or  misfits  become 
intolerable  by  reason  of  public  inconvenience  through  obstruc- 
tion of  free  movement  and  actual  financial  loss  from  consequent 
delays,  and  when  the  ugliness  which  is  inseparable  from  lack  of 
orderliness  is  realized,  the  demand  for  a  correction  of  the  defects 
in  the  plan  are  insistent  and  the  public  is  wilUng  to  pay  the  price, 
however  great  it  may  be.  The  most  of  what  are  called  city 
planning  projects  are  of  this  kind,  and  serious  attempts  to 
avoid  the  same  mistakes  in  parts  of  the  city  where  improve- 
ments have  not  gone  so  far  as  to  forbid  readjustment  of  the 
plan  without  great  expense,  or  to  profit  by  past  experience  in 
the  development  of  plans  for  the  portions  not  yet  mapped, 
or  to  save  the  unspoiled  places,  appear  to  have  been  after- 
thoughts. Some  stupendous  plans  for  the  improvement  of 
conditions  have  been  advanced  and  in  some  cases  carried  out. 
Perhaps  the  most  spectacular  of  all  was  the  construction  of  the 
great  boulevard  system  of  Paris  under  the  direction  of  Baron 
Haussmann.  Undertaken  partly  for  reasons  of  military 
strategy,  but  also  to  beautify  the  city,  the  various  projects 
were  carried  out  within  a  relatively  short  time,  considering 
their  magnitude,  and  were  financed  by  an  imperial  government 

27 


28  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

with  far  less  delay  and  debate  than  would  have  been  possible 
under  a  democratic  government,  where  it  would  have  been  neces- 
sary to  convince  the  people  that  they  were  essential  and  that 
they  would  be  worth  the  enormous  cost  involved.  Naples 
also  has  carried  out  some  great  improvements  by  the  cutting  of 
broad  avenues  through  districts  where  narrow,  tortuous  streets 
did  not  provide  sufficient  light  and  air  to  make  business  profitable 
or  Uving  tolerable.  Vienna  made  itself  one  of  the  world's 
most  beautiful  cities,  not  by  correcting  mistakes  in  planning 
or  which  were  due  to  lack  of  planning,  but  by  avaihng  herself 
of  an  opportunity  to  use  lands  formerly  devoted  to  defensive 
works  which  were  useless  under  modern  conditions. 

Chicago,  through  the  efforts  of  private  citizens,  has  worked 
out  a  plan  for  rearranging  and  reconstructing  a  considerable  part 
of  the  city,  which,  if  carried  out  in  its  entirety,  will  require  many 
years  of  time  and  scores  of  milhons  of  dollars,  and  a  beginning 
has  already  been  made  on  some  of  the  details  of  this  plan.  In 
the  last  named  city  a  phenomenally  rapid  growth  has  brought 
about  within  a  generation  the  conditions  which  it  is  desired  to 
correct,  the  city  being  so  intent  upon  its  physical  and  material 
development  that  httle  thought  was  given  to  the  manner  of  its 
growth  and  the  embarrassments  to  which  its  faulty  plan  would 
lead.  New  York,  or  at  least  the  Borough  of  Manhattan, 
continued  until  quite  recently  to  grow  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  prepared  for  it  a  century  or  more  ago  without  a  realization 
of  the  defects  of  that  plan,  and  now  some  modifications,  the  need 
of  which  is  quite  apparent,  are  rendered  prohibitively  costly 
on  account  of  the  building  damage  which  would  result, 
although  some  radical  changes  have  been  and  are  being  carried 
out. 

Some  of  the  conditions  which  it  has  become  necessary 
to  remedy  have  been  of  very  slow  growth,  and  the  agitation 
which  has  finally  resulted  in  their  improvement  has  been  con- 
tinued for  many  years.  Instead  of  referring  to  a  number  of 
such  projects,  one  or  two  will  be  described  in  some  detail.  One 
of  the  most  conspicuous  is  the  Strand-to-Holborn  Improve- 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  29 

ment  in  London.^  This  traverses  one  of  the  oldest  parts  of 
the  city,  where  in  the  course  of  centuries  a  series  of  narrow, 
'■crooked  and  unrelated  streets  and  lanes  had  grown  up.  High 
Holborn,  of  fairly  generous  but  very  irregular  width,  bounded 
it  on  the  north  and  the  Strand,  narrower  and  equally  irregular 
in  width  and  lines,  lay  to  the  south.  Drury  Lane  made  an 
attempt  to  connect  the  two  thoroughfares,  but  seemed  to  give 
up  the  idea  and  was  shunted  off  into  the  narrow  Wych  Street 
before  reaching  the  Strand.  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  lay  in  the 
easterly  part  of  this  district  and  about  300  ft.  south  of  High 
Holborn  and  was  an  open  space  which  appears  to  have 
given  the  public  authorities  much  concern  for  generations. 
Formerly  a  place  for  the  execution  of  criminals  and  in  some 
instances  of  political  offenders,  it  had  a  bad  name,  although 
it  was  referred  to  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  squares  in  Lon- 
don, and  parts  of  it  were  bordered  by  "  dwellings  of  noblemen 
and  gentlemen  of  qualitie."  In  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  plans  were  made  for  its  improvement  and 
ornamentation,  but  they  were  not  carried  out,  apparently  for 
the  reason  that  funds  for  the  purpose  w^ere  not  provided.  Finally, 
in  173s,  Parliament  passed  "  an  act  to  enable  the  present  and 
future  proprietors  and  inhabitants  of  the  houses  in  Lincoln's 
Inn  Fields  in  the  County  of  Middlesex  to  make  a  rate  on  them- 
selves for  raising  money  sufficient  to  enclose,  clean,  and  adorn 
the  said  fields."  The  conditions  which  it  was  desired  to  remedy 
are  set  forth  in  great  detail  in  a  preamble  to  the  act  which  read 
in  part  as  follows : 

"  And  whereas  the  said  great  square  now  called  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields, 
situate  in  the  several  parishes  of  Saint  Giles  in  the  Fields,  Saint  Clement 
Danes,  and  Saint  Andrew  Holbourn,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  hath 
for  some  years  past  laid  waste  and  in  great  disorder,  whereby  the  same 
has  become  a  receptacle  for  rubbish,  dirt,  and  nastiness  of  all  sorts,  brought 

1  The  agitation  leading  up  to  this  improvement  and  the  conditions  which  it  was 
designed  to  remedy  are  described  in  detail  by  Mr.  Charles  Gordon  in  "  Old  Time 
Aldwych,  Kingsway  and  Neighbourhood,"  from  which  and  from  official  reports  of 
the  construction  and  opening  of  the  new  thoroughfares  the  following  information 
has  been  obtained. 


30  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

thither:  and  laid  not  only  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  field,  but  many 
others,  which  has  not  been  removed  or  taken  away  by  the  several  scavengers 
of  the  parishes  wherein  the  said  fields  are  situate  as  aforesaid;  but,  also, 
for  want  of  proper  fences  to  inclose  the  same,  great  mischiefs  have  hap- 
pened to  many  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  going  about  their  lawful  occasions, 
several  of  whom  have  been  killed,  and  others  hurt  and  maimed  by  horses, 
which  have  been  from  time  to  time  aired  and  rode  in  the  said  fields;  and, 
by  reason  of  the  said  fields  being  kept  open,  many  wicked  and  disorderly 
persons  have  frequented  and  met  together  therein,  using  unlawful  sports 
and  games,  and  drawing  in  and  enticing  young  persons  into  gambling, 
idleness,  and  other  vicious  courses;  and  vagabonds,  common  beggars, 
and  other  disorderly  persons  resort  therein,  where  many  robberies,  assaults, 
outrages,  and  enormities  have  been,  and  continually  are  committed,  not- 
withstanding the  watch  or  guard  allowed  by  the  several  parishes,  wherein 
the  said  fields  are  situate,  for  preventing  the  same;  and,  whereas  the  south, 
west,  and  north  parts  of  the  said  fields  are  incompassed  with  houses,  many 
of  which  are  inhabited  by  the  owners  and  proprietors  thereof,  who,  with  the 
other  inhabitants,  cannot  go  to  and  from  their  respective  habitations  in 
the  night  season  without  danger,  and  therefore  are  desirous  to  prevent 
any  mischiefs  for  the  future,  and  to  inclose,  clean,  repair,  and  beautify 
the  said  fields  in  a  graceful  manner,  and  are  wilHng  and  desirous  that  an 
adequate  contribution  may  for  that  purpose  be  raised  by  and  amongst  them- 
selves; wherefore,  and  to  the  end  that  the  said  fields  may  be  inclosed, 
cleansed,  and  adorned,  and  kept  in  repair  for  the  future,  the  said  pro- 
prietors and  inhabitants  do  most  humbly  beseech  your  most  excellent 
majesty  that  it  may  be  enacted,  etc." 

Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  was  finally  redeemed  and  became  an 
attractive  park  of  some  six  or  seven  acres  in  addition  to  its 
bounding  streets,  but  it  was  so  hidden  away  in  a  maze  of  narrow 
lanes  that  one  not  familiar  with  its  location  would  be  unlikely 
to  discover  it.  Even  today  the  visitor  to  London  might  pass 
along  Kingsway  within  50  yards  or  along  High  Holborn 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  this  little  park  without  suspecting 
its  existence-  unless  his  attention  were  directed  to  it  by  a  guide- 
book. (PI.  3.)  Its  improvement  was  of  Httle  more  than 
local  benefit  and  the  delays  and  inconvenience  to  traffic  in  its 
vicinity  were  in  nowise  abated,  and  the  need  of  a  direct  con- 
nection between  the  Strand  somewhere  near  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary  le  Strand  or  the  Church  of  St.  Clement  Danes  and  High 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  31 

Holborn  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  open  space  was  more  and 
more  obvious. 

In  1836,  and  again  in  1838,  a  plan  was  laid  before  the  Select 
Committees  on  Metropolitan  Improvements,  showing  a  scheme 
for  connecting  Holborn  with  the  northwest  corner  of  Lincoln's 
Inn  Fields  by  a  street  50  ft.  wide,  for  the  utilization  but  not 
the  widening  of  the  street  along  the  westerly  side  of  the  fields, 
and  then  passing  from  its  southwesterly  corner  to  the  Strand 
by  a  new  street  50  ft.  wide  following  the  line  of  Newcastle 
Street  {A  on  plan) . 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  new  and  modern  thoroughfare, 
which  was  admittedly  much  needed,  was  to  be  only 
50  ft.  in  width.  The  improvement,  together  with  a  number 
of  others  at  that  time  suggested,  was  postponed  on  account 
of  the  difficulty  of  meeting  the  expense,  and  also  because  other 
improvements  were  considered  even  more  important.  Again, 
in  1847,  the  general  scheme  was  submitted  to  a  commission 
which  had  been  appointed  "  to  consider  the  most  effectual 
means  of  improving  the  metropolis."  The  general  plan  was 
somewhat  similar  to  that  at  first  put  forward,  except  that  the 
new  street  from  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  to  the  Strand  was  to 
take  a  southwesterly  direction,  entering  the  Strand  near  Welling- 
ton Street  (B  on  plan),  instead  of  Newcastle  Street.  Nothing, 
however,  was  accomphshed  at  this  time. 

In  1855  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  was  created, 
and  this  same  plan,  with  many  others,  was  brought  to  its  atten- 
tion, and  from  that  time  until  1889,  when  the  MetropoHtan 
Board  of  Works  was  superseded  by  the  London  County  Council, 
the  scheme  was  the  subject  of  frequent  consideration  and 
discussion,  but  nothing  was  done.  Until  1883  the  Board 
had  made  no  attempt  to  secure  the  sanction  of  ParHament  for 
such  an  improvement  in  view  of  what  were  considered  even 
more  pressing  needs  for  new  thoroughfares  in  other  parts  of  the 
city.  In  1883,  however,  the  MetropoHtan  Board  of  Works 
concluded  to  apply  to  Parliament  for  the  necessary  powers 
to  not  only  construct  this  street,  but  also  to  widen  the  Strand 


32  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

at  Holywell  Street.  About  the  time  this  appUcation  was 
made  the  project  had  expanded  somewhat,  so  that  it  was  pro- 
posed to  make  the  new  street  60  ft.  wide,  commencing  at  Little 
Turnstile,  Holborn,  and  proceeding  to  the  westerly  side  of 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  and  then  curving  eastwardly  and  entering 
the  Strand  to  the  north  of  Saint  Clement  Danes  Church.  The 
government,  however,  did  not  grant  the  authority  requested. 
In  1889,  the  newly  constituted  London  County  Council  referred 
this  same  project  to  the  Improvements  Committee  and  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  beHeved  that  not  only  did  the  requirements  of 
traffic  demand  this  new  means  of  communication  between 
Holborn  and  the  Strand,  but  that  the  building  of  such  a  street 
would  cut  through  an  area  which  would  be  greatly  improved 
by  its  construction.  This  committee  reported  to  the  Council 
a  plan  for  the  construction  of  a  new  street  from  Holborn  at 
Southampton  Row  (C  on  plan)  in  an  almost  direct  Hne  to 
Catherine  Street  at  the  Strand  {D  on  plan),  with  a  spur  from  the 
new  street  running  from  a  point  about  500  ft.  north  of  the 
Strand  to  the  latter  street  at  Saint  Clement  Danes  Church. 
Again  it  was  resolved  to  postpone  this  or  any  other  large  im- 
provements until  some  satisfactory  provision  could  be  made 
for  an  equitable  distribution  of  the  expense. 

In  1892,  a  modified  plan  was  brought  before  the  Council 
which  included  the  widening  of  the  Strand  and  the  construction 
of  a  broad  avenue  from  Holborn  at  Little  Queen  street  to  the 
Church  of  Saint  Mary  le  Strand  with  two  streets  diverging  from 
the  principal  artery  and  reaching  the  Strand  at  points  to  the 
east  and  west  of  Saint  Mary  le  Strand  Church.  It  was  this 
time  proposed  to  make  the  new  street  100  ft.  wide  with  a  circus 
some  200  ft.  in  diameter  about  midway  between  its  termini. 
The  Committee  in  submitting  the  plan  recommended  that 
provision  should  be  made  in  the  bill  that  the  owners  of  the 
property  benefited  should  contribute  toward  the  cost.  The 
Council  adopted  the  recommendations,  but  owing  to  some 
dissatisfaction    with  the  proposed  distribution  of  expense  the 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  33 

bill  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  Parliament.  The  estimate 
of  the  net  cost  of  this  improvement,  after  deducting  recoupment 
by  disposal  of  the  surplus  land,  was  about  $11,230,000.  In 
1895  and  in  1896  the  improvement  was  again  brought  before 
the  London  County  Council,  on  the  last  occasion  it  being  sug- 
gested that  the  original  scheme  of  utiHzing  the  western  side  of 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  be  again  taken  up.  In  1896  the  Council 
concluded  that  without  waiting  to  carry  out  the  entire  scheme 
it  was  necessary  without  delay  to  proceed  with  the  widening 
of  the  Strand.  Parliamentary  powers  were  obtained,  and 
this  improvement  was  at  once  proceeded  with.  One  year 
later  the  Council  decided  to  undertake  another  improvement 
which  was  intimately  connected  with  that  which  had  been  under 
discussion  for  so  many  years,  namely,  the  widening  of  South- 
ampton Row  north  of  Holborn,  and  this  also  was  carried  out. 

These  two  improvements,  namely,  the  widening  of  the  Strand 
and  of  Southampton  Row,  made  it  quite  apparent  that  the 
only  logical  plan  for  the  new  Strand-to-Holborn  thoroughfare 
would  be  that  which  was  suggested  in  1892  or  such  a  modifica- 
tion of  it  as  would  result  in  a  direct  connection  with  the  widened 
Southampton  Row.  In  1898,  after  careful  consideration  of 
a  variety  of  competing  plans,  it  was  decided  that  the  scheme 
of  1892  providing  a  direct  route  from  Holborn  at  Southampton 
Row  to  the  Strand,  modified,  however,  in  accordance  with 
some  suggestions  made  by  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects, and  with  some  alterations  proposed  by  the  Committee, 
was  the  one  to  be  carried  out,  together  with  a  further  widening 
of  the  Strand  to  the  north  of  Saint  Mary's  Church.  The  plan 
also  provided  for  the  acquisition  of  the  whole  site  within  the 
area  bounded  by  the  Strand  and  the  two  branch  streets,  as  well 
as  a  considerable  area  of  land  which  would  front  on  the  new 
streets.  There  was  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether 
these  new  streets  should  be  made  90  or  100  ft.  wide.  It  was 
found  that  exactly  the  same  properties  would  have  to  be  ac- 
quired for  the  90  as  for  the  loo-ft.  street,  and  while  there  would 
result  from  the  wider  street  a  smaller  amount  of  surplus  land, 


34  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

it  was  believed  that  the  increased  width  of  the  street  would 
enhance  the  value  of  this  land  to  an  amount  greater  than  the 
value  of  the  lo-ft.  strip  to  be  added  to  the  thoroughfare.  This 
plan  having  been  decided  upon,  it  was  submitted  to  ParHa- 
ment,  and  was  the  largest  scheme  of  town  improvement  ever 
undertaken  in  London.  The  plan  was  opposed  by  forty  or 
more  powerful  and  influential  companies  and  persons  on  vari- 
ous grounds,  including  the  following: 

1.  That  the  Council  should  not  be  authorized  to  take 
property  not  actually  required  for  the  new  street  but  needed 
with  a  \dew  to  recoupment,  but  that  it  should  be  limited  in  the 
taking  of  property  to  that  actually  required  for  the  improvement ; 

2.  That  if  the  Council  were  given  this  power  it  should  not 
have  the  power  to  impose  a  special  assessment; 

3 .  That  the  owners  of  property  to  be  taken  were  entitled  to 
insist  upon  reinstatement  upon  some  other  convenient  site. 

The  bill  ultimately  passed  and  became  a  law  in  1899.  In 
its  final  form  the  total  estimate  of  the  gross  cost  of  the  com- 
pleted scheme  was  about  $30,600,000,  while  it  was  estimated 
that  about  $21,800,000  would  be  realized  from  the  sale  of 
surplus  land.  The  new  street  was  constructed  and  formally 
opened  on  October  18,  1905,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  gross  cost  of  property  taken  was  just  about  $1,000,000  less 
than  had  been  estimated.  The  extent  of  the  recoupment  through 
the  sale  of  the  surplus  land  is  indicated  in  another  chapter. 

London's  experience  in  securing  this  great  improvement 
has  been  recited  at  considerable  length  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  for  how  long  periods  many  defective  street  plans  have 
existed,  how  the  defects  became  emphasized  as  the  city  grew, 
and  what  long  and  persistent  effort  and  agitation  are  required 
before  their  correction  is  undertaken.  Those  who  have  strug- 
gled to  bring  about  some  similar  improvements  in  their  own 
city  and  have  become  discouraged  at  the  repeated  failure  of  their 
efforts  may  take  heart  when  they  reahze  that  the  Strand-to- 
Holborn  Improvement  was  first  advocated  no  less  than  sixty- 
nine  years  before  it  was  physically  completed.     There  may  be 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  35 

scant  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  those  of  a  succeeding 
generation  will  see  the  fruition  of  one's  efforts,  but  we  have 
learned  something  about  the  way  to  get  results  even  under  a 
democratic  form  of  government,  and  plans  for  betterment  which 
are  really  worth  while  and  are  intelUgently  and  persistently 
advocated  are  not  unlikely  to  be  reaHzed  with  fair  promptness 
when  their  importance  is  generally  appreciated.  The  people 
of  a  city  which  is  self-governed  seem  to  have  a  strong  desire 
to  talk  over  and  debate  any  question  relating  to  a  municipal 
improvement,  and  this  disposition  is  especially  marked  in  the 
cities  of  Great  Britain.  The  need  of  the  improvement  may  be 
generally  recognized,  but  the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  carried 
out  must  be  thoroughly  discussed,  not  by  experts,  but  by  the 
people  themselves  before  they  are  ready  to  undertake  it.  When 
an  unexpected  opportunity  to  correct  a  defective  condition  at  a 
minimum  of  expense  is  presented  it  is  rarely  availed  of  owing 
to  this  passion  for  full  and  free  discussion.  Mr.  W.  E.  Riley, 
Architect  of  the  London  County  Council,  in  a  paper  presented 
at  the  London  Town  Planning  Conference  of  19 lo,  notes  that 
in  the  great  fire  of  London,  in  1666,  an  area  of  436  acres  was 
burned  over,  and,  although  Wren  and  Evelyn  promptly  put 
forward  their  plans  for  the  rebuilding  of  these  areas  (Figs.  14 
and  15,  p.  92)  "  select  committees  and  royal  commissions  have 
met  and  reported  with  frequency  and  perseverance  during  the 
last  century,"  thus  illustrating  the  unwillingness  of  the  people 
to  act  upon  the  suggestions  even  of  one  who  had  done  so  much 
to  make  London  notable  as  had  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  without 
ample  opportunity  for  full  and  free  discussion,  which  was  so 
protracted  that  the  city  had  meanwhile  adjusted  itself  to  the 
conditions  brought  about  by  the  fire  and  the  old  defects  in  the 
plan  were  perpetuated  in  the  rebuilding. 

Difficult  and  costly  as  has  been  the  correction  of  the  defects 
in  the  plans  of  European  towns,  it  is  vastly  more  so  in  cities 
like  New  York  or  Chicago,  where,  as  the  result  of  a  lack  of 
reasonable  restrictions  governing  the  height  and  arrangement 
of  buildings,  great  and  costly  structures  have  been  erected  on 


36  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

narrow  streets  to  such  an  extent  that  street  widenings  or  the 
cutting  through  of  new  streets  would  involve  so  great  an  expense 
that  they  are  out  of  the  question.  Perhaps  the  fundamental 
mistake  was  the  failure  to  impose  limitations  of  height  and  bulk 
which  would  in  the  first  place  have  prevented  the  overtaxing  of 
the  streets  and  yet  would  have  diminished  the  cost  of  widening 
them  should  it  become  necessary.  When  a  structure  like  the 
new  Equitable  Building  in  New  York,  which  occupies  a  block 
approximately  160X308  ft.  in  size,  one  of  the  four  bounding 
streets  of  which  has  a  width  of  75  ft.,  another  45  ft.  and  the 
other  two  35  ft.,  can  be  built  to  a  height  of  38  stories,  or  536  ft., 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000,000  for  the  building  and  land,  converting 
each  of  the  adjacent  streets  into  a  narrow  canyon  where  direct 
sunHght  is  almost  unknown,  it  is  quite  apparent  that  New  York 
made  one  of  its  most  serious  mistakes  when  it  failed  to  restrict 
the  height  to  which  such  buildings  could  be  carried  and  thereby 
made  it  possible  to  prevent  a  modification  of  the  street  lines 
after  the  erection  of  such  buildings.  Efforts  to  bring  about 
improvements  in  existing  conditions  or  to  correct  mistakes 
frequently  fail  for  the  reason  that  they  are  too  ambitious  or 
attempt  to  do  too  much  at  the  same  time.  Official  commissions 
and  unofi&cial  committees  have  been  appointed,  and  have  made 
many  plans  for  the  correction  of  all  the  defects  they  could  dis- 
cover, but  by  reason  of  their  failure  to  concentrate  their  efforts 
on  one  or  two  details  of  unquestionable  importance,  their  labors 
have  come  to  naught.  Such  a  commission  was  created  in  New 
York  city  in  1904,  and  three  years  later  presented  a  report, 
accompanied  by  a  great  number  of  plans  involving  radical 
changes.  Some  of  them  were  admirable,  particularly  a  few 
which  related  to  the  provision  of  a  system  of  parks  and  park- 
ways for  a  part  of  the  city  which  was  still  undeveloped  and 
for  which  there  was  no  adopted  street  plan.  Attention  and 
interest  were  diverted  from  these,  however,  by  a  number  of 
more  spectacular  projects  for  the  cutting  through  of  new  and 
the  widening  of  existing  streets  and  the  creation  of  plazas,  the 
cost  of  acquiring  the  land  for  which,  with  the  damage  to  existing 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  37 

buildings,  but  with  no  allowance  for  construction,  was  estimated 
to  be  nearly  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  One  or  two  of  the 
projects  have  been  or  are  in  process  of  being  carried  out,  but 
the  agitation  for  them  began  before  this  commission  was  created 
and  was  persistently  kept  up  until  actual  results  were  obtained. 
One  of  these  was  the  southerly  extension  of  Seventh  avenue 
and  the  widening  of  Varick  street.  (Fig.  i.)  Old  Greenwich 
Village  had  an  irregular  street  plan  with  no  continuous  and 
adequate  north-and-south  artery  of  traffic.  The  plan  adopted 
in  1811  with  its  series  of  broad  north-and-south  avenues 
adjoined  Greenwich  on  the  north.  The  new  Pennsylvania 
Station  was  located  on  Seventh  avenue  between  Thirty-first 
and  Thirty-third  streets,  while  the  building  of  the  new  Chelsea 
Docks  along  the  Hudson  River  just  west  of  the  northerly 
part  of  Greenwich  resulted  in  an  increase  of  street  traffic  which 
had  no  adequate  outlet  to  the  south.  A  new  four-track,  rapid- 
transit  subway  was  planned  for  the  west  side  of  lower  Manhattan, 
but  there  was  no  available  street  which  would  afford  a  direct 
route  for  this  transit  line.  A  southerly  extension  of  Seventh 
avenue,  together  with  a  widening  of  Varick  street  to  West 
Broadway,  appeared  to  offer  a  solution  of  the  difficulty.  After 
considerable  discussion,  which  seemed  brief  in  comparison  with 
that  devoted  to  the  Strand-to-Holborn  Improvement,  the  street 
was  laid  out,  title  acquired,  the  four-track  rapid-transit  railway 
is  being  constructed  in  it,  and  as  soon  as  that  is  finished  it  will 
be  suitably  paved  and  this  part  of  the  city  will  have  a  thorough- 
fare which  was  essential  to  relieve  it  from  the  stagnation  which 
was  apparent  through  the  inadequacy  of  its  former  street 
system. 

Perhaps  the  most  ambitious  scheme  for  correcting  the  defects 
in  the  plan  of  a  great  city  is  that  prepared  by  Mr.  Burnham  for 
the  reconstruction  of  a  large  part  of  the  central  portion  of 
Chicago  and  advocated  by  the  Commercial  Club  of  that  city. 
It  has  been  so  often  and  so  fully  described,  illustrated  and  dis- 
cussed that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer  to  it  at  length.  It 
includes  not  only  the  widening  of  many  of  the  existing  streets, 


38 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


Fig.  1.— Showing  the  cutting  through  of  a  new  street  and  the  widening  of  an 
existing  street  to  form  a  traffic  artery  loo  ft.  wide  in  New  York. 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  39 

but  the  creation  of  a  great  number  of  diagonals  which  would  cut 
through  many  blocks  of  intensively  developed  property.  Per- 
haps its  most  spectacular  feature  is  the  great  boulevard  which 
sweeps  on  a  circular  curve  through  or  about  the  district  to  be 
rearranged  with  an  imposing  civic  center  midway  or  at  the  point 
of  the  curve  farthest  from  the  lake  front.  The  plan  also  includes 
an  ambitious  scheme  for  the  development  of  the  lake  front  by 
the  improvement  of  existing  and  the  creation  of  new  parks, 
although  this  city  possesses  an  unusually  complete  park  system. 
Grant  Park  at  the  easterly  end  of  the  great  axis  leading  to  the 
civic  center  is  to  be  extended  into  the  lake,  and  will  include  a 
large  lagoon  or  harbor  for  pleasure  craft,  while  fronting  it  will 
be  several  monumental  buildings.  This  part  of  the  improve- 
ment and  some  of  the  other  details  in  the  vicinity  have  already 
been  undertaken.  The  entire  project  of  reconstruction,  if  car- 
ried out  as  planned,  will  require  many  years  and  will  involve 
the  expenditure  of  scores  of  millions  of  dollars.  Its  serious 
consideration  and  the  actual  commencement  of  the  work  offer 
evidence  of  a  courageous  optimism  and  faith  in  the  future  of 
their  city  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  Chicago  and  a  devotion 
to  the  public  interest  on  the  part  of  the  aggressive  organization 
which  has  put  forward  the  plans  which  may  bring  about  their 
realization,  stupendous  as  they  are. 

Other  changes  might  be  cited,  such  as  the  removal  of  "  the 
hump  "  in  Pittsburgh,  where  the  street  grades  over  an  area  of 
i8|  acres  in  the  heart  of  the  office  district  were  lowered  varying 
amounts  up  to  a  little  over  i6  ft.,  buildings  of  over  20  stories 
being  underpinned  and  carried  down  to  the  new  grades  and  their 
facades  being  remodeled  to  conform  with  the  new  conditions. 
The  extent  of  this  improvement  is  shown  by  PI.  5.  The  rate  of 
grade  of  the  principal  thoroughfare  traversing  the  district  was 
reduced  from  7.6  per  cent  to  4.87  per  cent,  and  at  one  point  this 
street  was  lowered  nearly  15  ft.  The  value  of  the  property 
affected  was  over  $56,000,000,  and  waivers  of  damages  were 
secured  on  property  representing  more  than  77  per  cent  of  this 
valuation.     The  cost  of  the  improvement  is  estimated  to  be 


40 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


$3,141,000,  of  which  about  $763,000  is  for  the  physical  work  of 
changing  the  street  grades  with  the  readjustment  of  sewers 
and  watermains,  the  remainder  of  the  sum  being  for  damages, 
against  which  there  were  offset  assessments  for  benefit  amounting 
to  about  $909,000.  These  figures  do  not  include  the  expense 
imposed  upon  the  pubHc  service  corporations  in  the  removal 
and  reconstruction  of  their  surface  and  subsurface  structures, 
not  that  incurred  by  property  owners  who  waived  damages  and 
reconstructed  and  adjusted  their  buildings  at  their  own  expense. 


Fig.   2. — Showing    an    over-built    block    in  Boston  and  the  remedy  proposed. 
Reproduced  from  the  second  annual  report  of  the  Mass.  Homestead  Com- 


Such  corrections  are  not  often  on  so  vast  a  scale.  Many 
have  been  carried  out  and  many  more  have  been  proposed  which, 
while  covering  a  Hmited  area  and  involving  comparatively  Httle 
expense,  have  redeemed  the  neighborhood  by  the  removal  of  a 
blight  which  has  grown  up  as  the  result  of  an  inadequate  street 
system,  but  which  could  not  survive  when  the  sunlight  was  let 
in.  An  example  of  this  is  shown  by  Fig.  2,  which  is  taken  from 
a  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Homestead  Commission.^     Two 

1  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Homestead  Commission,  1914, 
page  19. 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes 


41 


small  blocks,  both  of  which  are  grossly  overbuilt,  are  separated 
by  an  irregular  narrow  lane.  The  smaller  of  the  blocks  contains 
a  population  of  905  to  the  acre  and  17  places  of  business,  the 
larger  a  population  of  822  to  the  acre,  with  32  business  places. 
The  alternative  plan  suggested  by  the  commission  shows  how 
these  conditions  could  be  improved  by  widening  the  lane  and 
creating  a  small  open  space  about  midway  of  its  length.     The 


Fig.  3. — Showing  a  bad  local  condition  in  New  York  and  alternative  methods 
which  have  been  proposed  for  its  correction. 


report  states  that  the  Boston  planning  board  has  estimated 
that  by  levying  reasonable  betterment  assessments  on  the 
property  benefited  the  proposed  improvements  could  be  made 
at  a  net  cost  of  $7500.  A  somewhat  similar  instance  is  that 
shown  by  Fig.  3,  which  is  taken  from  New  York  city,  and  which 
is  known  as  the  Minetta  street  and  Minetta  lane  problem. 
This  small  district,  a  stone's  throw  from  important  and  busy 
streets,  has  been  growing  more  and  more  shabby  until  it  has 


42  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

become  a  menace  to  the  neighborhood.  The  plan  shows  one 
of  the  suggestions  which  have  been  made  for  its  betterment. 
It  is  proposed  to  widen  only  one  of  the  streets,  but  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  small  open  space  at  its  junction  with  the  other  would 
doubtless  have  a  most  beneficial  effect  upon  both. 

The  over-development  of  the  land  between  wide  and  attrac- 
tive streets  where  the  block  dimensions  are  such  as  to  permit  the 
erection  of  interior  dwellings  is  shown  by  one  of  the  illustra- 
tions on  PI.  1 6,  which  is  a  small  section  of  Charlottenburg. 
The  restrictive  ordinances  enacted  by  German  cities  do  not 
appear  to  have  prevented  the  development  of  conditions  such 
as  these,  which  are  frequently  found  immediately  back  of  the 
imposing  buildings  which  line  the  streets  so  much  admired  by 
casual  visitors.  It  is  true  that  liberal  provision  has  been  made 
for  the  recreation  and  amusement  of  the  people  of  these 
cities,  but  their  lives  might  be  more  wholesome  and  comfort- 
able if  they  were  given  more  light  and  air  in  their  homes,  even 
at  the  cost  of  some  curtailment  of  their  free  entertainment. 

Many  more  instances  might  be  given,  and,  while  less  spec- 
tacular and  attracting  less  attention  than  the  creation  of  civic 
centers  or  new  boulevards,  they  are  fully  as  important  and  will 
as  vitally  affect  the  districts  in  which  they  are  located.  They 
are  called  city  or  town  planning  and  no  exception  can  well  be 
taken  to  their  description  as  such,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  necessity  for  them  is  due  to  a  lack  of  far-sighted  planning  in 
the  beginning  and  that  they  are  really  the  correction  of  mistakes. 

There  may  be  occasional  instances  where  not  only  the  use  to 
which  the  land  in  a  particular  neighborhood  is  devoted  may  so 
change  as  to  require  a  recasting  of  its  plan,  but  an  entire  city 
may  undergo  a  radical  change  in  character.  This  is  what  hap- 
pened when  it  was  decided  that  the  city  of  Delhi,  which  in 
191 1  had  a  population  of  232,837,  should  become  the  Imperial 
Capital  of  India.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  recommend 
a  site  for  the  new  city.  Here  was  a  case  where  a  very  old  city 
had  to  be  adapted  to  new  conditions  or  a  new  city  had  to  be 
created  which  should  be  a  part  of   or  merged  with   the   old 


PLATE  3 


The  Strand  to  Holborn  improvemenl,  London,  finally  carried  out  nearly 
seventy  years  after  it  was  first  proposed.  Reproduced  from  '"  Old  Time 
Aldwych,  Kingsway,  and  Neighbourhood  "  (p.  30). 


PLATE  4 


General  features  of  the  plan  for  the  new  Indian  Capital  at  Delhi.  Repro- 
duced from  the  final  report  of  the  Delhi  Town  Planning  Committee,  copy  of 
which  was  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  John  A.  Brodie,  member  of  the  committee 
(p.  43). 


The  Correction  of  Mistakes  43 

town.  The  latter  course  was  followed,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  problem  was  solved  and  the  general  features  of  the 
plan  which  was  recommended  by  the  commission  are  shown  by 
PI.  4,  which  is  taken  from  the  final  report  of  the  Delhi  Town 
Planning  Committee  made  in  March,  1913,  which  report,  with 
the  two  which  preceded  it,  furnish  an  interesting  record  of  the 
problem  presented,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  attacked,  and 
the  various  considerations  which  determined  the  final  choice. 


CHAPTER   IV 
ELEMENTS   OF  A   CITY  PLAN 

WHAT  is  this  thing  that  we  speak  of  as  a  city  plan?  The 
idea  most  commonly  conveyed  by  the  term  is  a  map 
showing  the  boundaries  of  the  city  and  the  street  system  which 
already  exists  and  such  streets  as  have  been  laid  out  for  future 
development.  It  is  primarily  a  map,  the  basis  of  which  is  a 
survey.  The  charter  of  the  city  of  New  York  describes  the 
city  plan  as  a  permanent  map  "  showing  the  parks,  streets, 
bridges  and  tunnels,  and  approaches  to  bridges  and  tunnels  as 
heretofore  laid  out,  adopted  and  established  pursuant  to  law, 
and  the  maps  and  profiles  included  in  or  accompanying  the  same 
showing  the  grades  of  such  streets  duly  fixed,  adopted  and 
established."  The  preparation  of  such  a  plan  is  little  more 
than  surveying,  more  or  less  precise  surveying,  it  may  be,  but 
it  may  involve  little  study  of  the  needs  of  the  community,  little 
sympathy  with  the  traditions  and  ideals  of  its  people,  little 
exercise  of  imagination  as  to  its  future  development  and  require- 
ments. A  plan  of  and  for  a  city  is  not  simply  a  map  showing  the 
streets,  parks,  bridges  and  tunnels  and  their  approaches  "  as 
heretof9re  laid  out,  adopted  and  established  pursuant  to  law." 
That  is  chiefly  a  record  of  what  has  already  been  done  and 
cannot  be  changed  without  great  expense ;  a  record  of  the  mis- 
takes which  have  been  made  through  lack  of  foresight  and 
imagination.  Not  that  such  mistakes  were  necessarily  due  to 
stupidity,  for  a  generation  ago  no  one  could  have  foreseen  the 
marvelous  development  of  our  cities  or  the  great  social  and 
economic  changes  brought  about  b}^  recent  inventions  which  have 
so  greatly  facilitated  transit  and  other  means  of  communica- 
tion.    The  city  plan  as  above  defined  is  too  minute  as  to  details 

44 


Elements  of  a  City  Plan  45 

and  ignores  the  city  as  a  whole,  not  only  as  it  is,  but  as  it  will 
be.  A  real  plan  is  rather  the  general  system  of  arterial  streets"^' 
and  transportation  lines  by  which  the  different  sections  of  the 
existing  and  the  future  city  will  be  connected  with  each  other 
and  with  centers  of  population  outside  of  the  city  limits;  parks 
and  open  spaces  and  other  resorts  for  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment; the  existing  water-front  development  and  the  space  needed 
for  its  further  increase;  existing  public  and  semi-public  build- 
ings and  sites  ior  those  which  may  be  required  in  the  future. 
This  is  the  real  city  plan  which  will  control  future  development, 
stimulating  it  or  retarding  it  as  the  case  may  be.  The  block 
dimensions  and  angles,  the  widths  of  minor  streets  and  the 
subdivision  into  a  vast  number  of  rectangular  blocks  of  standard 
size,  with  an  explanation  of  or  an  apology  for  every  departure 
from  that  standard  do  not  constitute  the  city  plan,  the  charter 
of  the  city  of  New  York  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
The  city  plan  is  something  bigger  and  broader.  It  is  some- 
thing to  which  the  city  may  grow,  not  something  to  which  it 
must  be  restricted  or  within  which  it  must  be  confined  as  in  a 
straitjacket. 

The  economic  considerations  which  should  control  city 
planning  are  precisely  those  which  should  prevail  in  the  design 
of  a  house,  shop,  railway  terminal  or  water-supply  system; 
namely,  adaptation  to  probable  or  possible  increase  in  demand 
and  capacity  to  supply  that  demand.  If  the  manufactory  or 
the  railway  is  foreordained  to  failure,  the  less  expended  upon  it 
the  better.  There  are  a  few  towns  which  were  laid  out  during 
*'  boom  "  periods  on  hues  which  were  fancied  to  be  those  of  a 
future  metropolis,  where  the  broad  streets  are  grass-grown, 
where  the  public  buildings  are  but  half  occupied  and  where 
everything  speaks  of  a  splended  ambition  which  resulted  in 
grotesque  failure.  When  a  city,  occupying  a  strategic  position, 
has  begun  a  natural  development  which  causes  growing  pains 
indicative  of  a  misfit  in  its  general  plan,  it  is  time  to  look  toward 
the  future,  to  adjust  the  plan  to  new  conditions  and  to  provide 
for  still  further  growth.     To  tear  down  and  enlarge  is  very 


\^ 


46  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

costly,  especially  so  when  there  is  no  room  for  enlargement 
without  the  purchase  of  additional  land  which  has  become 
far  more  valuable  than  when  the  original  enterprise  was  be- 
gun. This  is  constantly  being  done  by  individuals  and  cor- 
porations whose  domestic  or  business  requirements  make  it 
necessar)^-.  In  any  case  it  involves  a  distinct  loss  which  may 
be  justified  by  the  means  of  indulging  in  a  luxury  or  by  the  pros- 
pect of  increased  profit.  Cannot  the  city,  it  may  be  asked, 
instead  of  trying  to  provide  for  the  remote  future,  well  afford 
the  expense  of  reconstruction  to  adapt  itself  to  its  growing  needs, 
especially  when  it  has  the  power,  through  its  abihty  to  levy  taxes 
and  assessments,  to  impose  a  part  or  all  of  the  cost  of  the  neces- 
sary changes  upon  the  property  which  will  be  chiefly  benefited? 
No  expense  involving  the  destruction  of  property  can  be  justi- 
fied if  it  can  be  avoided  by  the  exercise  of  reasonable  forethought, 
and  the  taxing  power  of  the  city  should  not  be  used  unneces- 
sarily. The  requirements  of  the  modern  city  are  so  great  that 
the  burden  of  taxation  will  inevitably  be  heavy.  Improvements 
in  the  city  plan  may  increase  values  to  such  a  degree  that  they 
would  be  cheap  at  almost  any  price,  but  if  the  plan  had  been  so 
made  as  to  avoid  the  need  of  costly  changes,  both  the  city  at 
large  and  the  individual  property  owner  would  have  been  the 
gainers.  To  defer  the  correction  of  mistakes  which  are  quite 
apparent  in  well-developed  sections  of  the  city  or  to  put  off  the 
adoption  of  a  broader  policy  for  those  in  process  of  development 
because  land  is  expensive  and  costly  improvements  would  be 
destroyed  is  not  unnatural,  even  though  unwise.  To  fail  to 
take  advantage  of  such  object  lessons  in  parts  of  the  city  where 
there  are  few,  if  any,  improvements  or  where  the  street  plan  has 
not  yet  been  definitely  fixed  is  the  height  of  folly. 

Few  writers  on  city  planning  have  defined  the  elements  of 
a  comprehensive  city  plan.  Some  of  those  doing  so  have  laid 
special  emphasis  upon  the  organization  and  administration  of 
the  city,  particularly  its  social  activities,  and  their  list  is  a  long 
one.  Others  have  defined  the  several  districts  or  quarters  of  a 
city  which  require  special  treatment,  and  their  Hst  is  shorter. 


Elements  of  a  City  Plan  47 

An  American  architect  has  given  twelve  heads  under  which 
significant  facts  should  be  collected  and  classified  in  a  study 
of  city  planning,  namely:  streets;  transportation  of  people; 
transportation  of  goods;  factories  and  warehouses;  food  supply 
and  markets;  water  supply  and  sanitation ;  housing;  recreation; 
parks,  boulevards  and  tree  planting;  architecture;  laws  and 
financing.  A  French  writer  gives  four  divisions  of  the  city 
which  require  special  study  and  treatment:  the  business,  the 
industrial,  the  administrative,  and  the  residential  quarters.^ 
He  also  notes  that  "  the  climatic  conditions  of  each  country 
must  necessarily  determine  the  type  of  dwellings  selected  by 
the  inhabitants."  In  1874  the  United  Society  of  German 
Architects  and  Engineers  laid  down  the  fundamental  principles 
of  city  planning  as  follows : 

The  basic  principles  of  enlarging  a  city,  considered  from  the  technical, 
the  economical  and  the  administrative  points  of  view  are : 

(i)  The  scope  of  city  planning  consists  principally  in  fixing  the  base 
lines  of  all  traffic  movements  and  transit  facilities,  viz.:  streets,  street 
cars,  railroads  and  canals,  which  must  be  treated  liberally  and  sys- 
tematically. 

(2)  The  street  net  should  contain  the  main  streets,  with  the  exist- 
ing streets  taken  duly  into  consideration;  the  auxiliary  streets  which 
are  fixed  by  local  conditions,  and  in  addition,  other  subordinate  streets, 
treated  in  accordance  with  the  necessities  of  the  immediate  future,  or 
having  their  development  placed  in  the  hands  of  interested  property 
owners. 

(3)  The  grouping  of  the  parts  of  the  city  should  be  effected  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  location  and  individual  characteristics,  subject  to  such 
modifications  as  may  be  demanded  by  sanitary  considerations  and  the 
exigencies  of  commerce  and  industry. 

(4)  The  duty  of  the  building  department  is  to  determine  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  tenant  and  neighbor  and  house  owner.  Such  rights  and 
privileges  are  related  to  fire  protection,  freedom  from  interference,  health, 
and  safety  of  buildings,  and  all  aesthetic  considerations  must  be  secondary 
thereto. 

(s)  It  is  desirable  that  expropriation  and  impropriation  be  facilitated 
by  legal  measures,  and  of  still  more  importance  is  the  creation  of  a  law 

1  Mr.  A.  Augustin  Rey  in  a  paper  on  "  The  Growth  and  Development  of 
Towns,"  presented  at  the  London  Town  Planning  Conference,  iqio. 


48  The   Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

providing  for  the  regulation  of  the  contour  of  new  or  reconstructed  blocks 
to  be  built  upon. 

(6)  The  city  should  be  reimbursed  by  property  holders  directly  bene- 
fited by  improvements  for  funds  advanced  by  the  city  for  such  purposes, 
and  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  amount  stipulated  before  the  work  is  begun 
and  a  normal  cost  per  front  foot  fixed. 

(7)  The  activities  of  interested  property  owners'  associations,  in 
regard  to  the  improvement  of  certain  sections,  should  be  subject  to  munici- 
pal supervision. 

(8)  Land  upon  which  it  is  imperative  to  make  improvements  should 
only  be  built  upon  under  reservations  for  its  subsequent  use  by  the  city. 

City  planning  is  often  held  to  include  many  things  besides 
the  physical  city  and  to  embrace  the  various  functions,  the 
efficient  performance  of  which  will  depend  to  a  large  degree 
upon  the  skill  and  foresight  with  which  the  groundwork  for  the 
physical  plan  is  laid.  As  this  volume  will  deal  for  the  most 
part  with  the  engineering  aspects  of  the  problem,  consideration 
will  be  given  chiefly  to  the  physical  city.  Without  regard, 
therefore,  to  the  various  municipal  activities  and  administrative 
details,  the  convenience  and  attractiveness  of  a  city  will  depend 
chiefly  upon  four  features  of  its  plan : 

1.  The  transportation  system  or  the  means  provided  for 
getting  in  and  out  of  the  city,  and  for  quick  movement  of 
passengers  and  freight  from  one  part  of  the  town  to  another. 
It  is  obvious  that  transit  needs  cannot  be  accurately  foreseen, 
but  provision  should  be  made  for  improving  and  extending  them 
when  needed.  A  large  part  of  the  transportation  will  always 
be  in  the  streets  themselves,  and  its  adequacy  and  efficiency 
will  be  largely  determined  by  the  location  and  dimensions  of 
the  streets  in  which  the  intra-urban  transit  lines  are  located. 

2 .  The  street  system  in  and  through  which  the  daily  business 
is  done  and  by  which  the  people  gain  access  to  their  homes  and 
pass  from  these  homes  to  their  work,  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment. A  street  system  once  adopted  and  developed  must  remain 
indefinitely.  While  some  streets  may  be  widened  and  an 
occasional  new  street  may  be  cut  through  existing  improve- 
ments, the  general  street  plan,  once  estabhshed  and  constructed, 


Elements  of  a  City  Plan  49 

is  fastened  upon  the  city  as  long  as  the  city  itself  lasts.  A 
catastrophe  such  as  the  great  fire  of  London,  in  1666,  or  the 
San  Francisco  fire,  in  1906,  may  afford  an  opportunity  for  a 
recasting  of  the  plan  for  a  considerable  area,  but  it  is  seldom 
availed  of. 

3.  The  park  and  recreation  facilities  upon  which  the  comfort 
and  health  of  the  community  are  to  a  large  degree  dependent.  It 
is  true  that  a  lack  of  proper  parks  may  be  supplied  at  any  time, 
even  when  the  space  to  be  devoted  to  that  purpose  shall  have 
been  built  upon  and  when  the  cost  of  their  acquisition  will  be 
greatly  enhanced,  but  a  park  system  can  be  most  economically 
and  satisfactorily  estabhshed  in  advance  of  other  improve- 
ments, and  facility  of  access  to  them  and  proper  connections 
between  the  different  park  units  will  depend  upon  the  street 
system,  so  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  park  plan  be  worked 
out  in  connection  with  the  street  plan. 

4.  The  location  of  public  buildings,  which  may  render  the 
conduct  of  public  business  convenient  or  difficult  and  may  give 
a  favorable  or  unfavorable  impression  to  visitors.  PubHc 
buildings  like  business  buildings  can  be  changed  in  location  as 
necessity  and  convenience  may  require,  but  the  suitabihty  of 
their  sites,  whether  they  are  convenient  and  commanding  or 
awkward  and  unprepossessing,  will  depend  upon  the  streets 
about  them  and  leading  to  them,  so  that  the  location  of  these 
buildings  should  receive  the  most  careful  study  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  general  plan  of  the  city. 

While  there  may  be  other  elements  which  go  to  make  up  the 
complex  organism  called  the  modern  city,  those  enumerated 
are  the  ones  which  are  likely  to  give  the  town  its  character,  to 
make  it  convenient  or  inconvenient,  dignified  or  commonplace. 
Upon  the  skill  and  foresight  exercised  in  providing  for  them  will 
depend  to  a  large  degree  the  orderliness  of  the  city's  growth, 
and  the  facihty  with  which  individual  and  corporate  activities 
can  be  carried  on.  These  four  features  of  a  city  plan  will  be 
discussed  in  some  detail  in  the  four  succeeding  chapters. 

But  city  planning,  even  in  the  relatively  restricted  sense 


50  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

in  which  the  term  is  here  used,  includes  the  adoption  of  means 
to  insure  an  intelligent  program  for  the  progressive  develop- 
ment and  the  most  profitable  use  of  the  transportation  system, 
the  street  system,  the  park  system  and  sites  for  public  build- 
ings for  the  benefit  of  all  of  the  people  of  the  city.  It  includes 
also  plans  for  the  sane  financing  of  these  improvements  in  order 
that  the  burden  of  cost  shall  be  distributed  as  equitably  as 
possible,  that  the  few  are  not  enriched  at  the  expense  of  the 
many,  and  that  the  city's  credit  shall  not  be  recklessly  used. 
It  includes  a  study  of  the  traffic  problems  of  the  town,  not  only 
provision  for  trafiic  in  the  working  out  of  the  street  plan,  but 
its  regulation  in  order  that  the  existing  street  facilities  may  be 
used  to  their  fullest  capacity,  avoiding  in  many  cases  costly 
changes  which  may  be  deemed  necessary  to  accommodate 
unregulated  trafiic,  when  by  the  introduction  of  better  system 
and  control  the  desired  results  can  be  secured  by  ordinance 
instead  of  by  bond  issues  or  assessments.  It  may  be  said  that 
this  is  a  matter  of  administration  rather  than  of  planning,  but 
if  the  city  planner  can  point  out  how  conditions  can  be  improved 
by  so  simple  and  inexpensive  a  method  as  regulation  instead 
of  a  replanning  to  meet  changed  conditions,  it  is  surely  within 
his  province  and  it  is  his  duty  to  do  so. 

The  framework  of  a  city  may  be  intelligently  planned  and 
yet  the  objects  sought  may  fail  of  reaHzation  owing  to  the 
lack  of  such  control  over  the  development  of  private  property 
as  will  insure  health,  amenity  and  convenience.  Healthy  living 
may  be  rendered  impossible  by  over-intensive  development, 
failure  to  provide  sufficient  Hght  and  air  through  the  absence 
of  adequate  courts  and  back  yards,  and  the  lack  of  restrictions 
as  to  the  height  to  which  buildings  may  be  erected.  Amenity, 
or  pleasantness  of  surroundings,  requires  good  design  of  the 
streets  and  their  details— not  the  introduction  of  fountains  and 
statues  and  other  highly  decorative  features,  but  good  pro- 
portion and  the  obvious  adaptabihty  of  means  to  ends,  the 
repression  of  garish  and  obtrusive  signs  and  hideous  noises. 
The  convenience  and  comfort  of  those  using  the  streets  are 


Elements  of  a  City  Plan  51 

sacrificed  if  private  owners  are  permitted  to  encumber  the 
sidewalks  by  projecting  portions  of  buildings  or  by  temporary 
occupation  for  the  display  of  goods,  while  street  capacity,  which 
might  be  ample  if  the  abutting  buildings  were  of  moderate 
height,  may  be  seriously  congested  if  buildings  are  allowed  to 
be  carried  to  any  height  which  the  owners  may  find  profitable. 

Careful  study  may  be  given  to  and  skill  shown  in  the  orderly 
planning  of  portions  of  a  city  or  even  of  the  entire  area  within 
the  city  limits,  and  yet,  when  the  boundary  line  between  the 
city  and  the  adjacent  towns  is  passed,  the  roads  may  be  of 
inadequate  capacity  or  without  proper  articulation;  the  ap- 
proaches to  the  city  may  be  shabby  and  uninteresting  and  the 
only  available  roads  leading  to  the  neighboring  towns  may  be 
tortuous  in  their  course  and  may  pass  through  the  meanest 
parts  of  both,  giving  the  traveler  a  very  unfavorable  impression. 
The  environs  of  the  city  should,  therefore,  be  studied  in  con- 
nection with  and  in  relation  to  the  plan  of  the  city  itself. 
While  the  original  ground  plan  has  chiefly  to  do  with  the  street 
system,  the  provision  of  suitable  sites  for  pubHc  and  semi- 
public  buildings  should  be  kept  in  mind.  While  the  precise 
location  of  such  buildings  cannot  be  designated  far  in  advance, 
the  general  plan  should  be  such  that  a  special  site  need  not  be 
created  for  each  building  as  the  time  comes  for  its  erection, 
streets  being  widened  and  new  streets  cut  through  in  order 
to  provide  access  to  it  or  to  enable  it  to  be  seen  to  advantage. 
If,  for  the  sake  of  public  convenience  and  in  order  to  secure  a 
good  architectural  effect,  the  important  public  buildings  can  be 
so  grouped  as  to  create  a  civic  center,  it  should  not  be  necessary 
to  recast  the  street  plan  in  order  to  do  so.  Not  only  for  the 
buildings  which  are  erected  by  the  city  and  used  for  its  pubhc 
business  should  suitable  sites  be  provided,  but  those  of  a  semi- 
public  character,  such  as  railway  stations,  private  educational 
institutions,  churches,  places  of  amusement  and  others,  will, 
if  properly  designed  and  advantageously  located,  add  character 
and  distinction  to  the  city  and  are  entitled  to  consideration  in 
the  preparation  of  the  original  plan. 


52  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Certain  parts  of  the  city  will  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  specific 
uses,  depending  upon  the  topography,  accessibility  to  trans- 
portation Hnes  and  other  considerations.     There  will  be  business 
districts,  industrial  districts,  high-class  residential  districts,  and 
those  where  workmen  can  find  cheap  homes  or  low  rents  con- 
venient to  the  places  where  they  are  to  be  employed.     Special 
developments  on  the  lines  of  the  so-called  garden  cities,  either 
for  the  accommodation  of  those  employed  in  the  business  dis- 
tricts or  in  connection  with  industrial  plants,  will  be  undertaken 
if  there  are  places  available  for  them  and,  in  order  that  this 
may  be  possible  without  going  miles  beyond  the  city's  Umits, 
considerable  areas  can  well  be  left  undivided  in  order  that  such 
developers  may  have  a  rather  free  hand  in  carrying  out  such 
plans,  provided  always  that  there  is  a  competent  authority  with 
full  power  to  control  the  general  plan  and  whose  approval  should 
be  required  before  it  can  be  carried  out.     American  cities  gen- 1^ 
erally   have   little   power   of   initiative.     Legislative   action   is  | 
commonly  required  to  permit  them  to  do  constructive  work    , 
themselves  or  to  enable  them  properly  to  control  improvements   i 
undertaken  by  private  individuals  or  corporations.     Laws  per- 
mitting them  to  do,  to  allow  others  to  do,  or  to  forbid  others  . 
from  doing,  seem  therefore  to  be  necessary,  and  the  framing 
of  wise  laws  to  this  end  is  an  important  part  of  a  city  planning 
program.     European    cities   are  often    large    landowneis   and 
frequently   indulge   in   land   speculation,    from   the   profits   of 
which  many  of  their  social  activities  are  financed.     The  adop- 
tion of  and  consistent  adheience  to  a  wise  and  prudent  land 
policy  is  therefore  necessary.     Frequent  changes  of  administra- 
tion and  reversal  of  policies  have  made  state  legislative  bodies 
reluctant  to  give  much  power  of  self-governmnt  to  American 
cities  and  pubHc  opinion  appears  to  incline  to  this  view.     In- 
telUgent  city  planning   and  the  orderly  execution  of  a  plan 
depend  to  so  large  a  degree  upon  municipal  prudence  and  self- 
restraint  and  upon  continuity  of  policy  and  purpose  that  mu- 
nicipal officers  will  have  to  show  that  they  are  capable  of  exercis- 
ing such  restraint  and  of  working  out  and  adhering  to  wise  and 


Elements  of  a  City  Plan  53 

\  prudent,  even  though  they  may  be  progressive,  policies  before 
they  will  be  given  that  degree  of  self-government,  the  need  of 
which  is  so  obvious  at  the  present  time. 

*  All  of  these  phases  of  city  planning  will  be  discussed  in  the 
succeeding  chapters.  Many  of  them  have  already  been  treated 
at  length  by  those  especially  qualified  to  do  so,  and  to  some  of 
them  an  entire  volume  could  be  devoted.  An  attempt  will  be 
made  to  show  by  a  few  concrete  examples  what  has  already 
been  accomplished,  rather  than  to  indicate  just  how  the  several 
problems  should  be  attacked  or  solved.  No  one  can  hope  to 
master  all  of  them,  but  all  should  command  the  sympathetic 
interest  of  the  man  or  group  of  men  who  may  be  responsible  for 
planning  for  the  further  growth  or  development  of  a  city  or 
town.  They  must  not  only  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
technical  subjects  involved,  but  should  also  have  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  legal  and  economic  questions  which  will  arise  and 
how  they  have  been  solved  in  other  cities,  while  social  and 
humanitarian  considerations  should  be  given  proper  weight. 
The  planners  and  builders  of  our  modern  cities  are  confronted 
with  problems  which  are  not  only  highly  technical,  but  which 
are  unsurpassed  in  their  intensely  human  interest. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM 

THE  modem  city  owes,  in  most  cases  its  genesis,  and  in  all 
cases  its  growth  and  prosperity,  to  its  facilities  for  internal 
communication  and  for  easy  access  to  its  sources  of  supply 
and  to  markets  for  the  disposal  of  its  manufactured  products. 
A  globe  trotter  who  had  developed  greater  powers  of  observa- 
tion than  thought  is  said  to  have  remarked  that  during  his 
travels  he  had  noticed  that,  by  some  wise  provision  of  Provi- 
dence, wherever  there  was  a  great  center  of  population  or 
industry,  there  was  usually  a  navigable  river  or  an  arm  of  the 
sea  and  advantageous  locations  for  railways  to  connect  it  with 
other  parts  of  the  country.  While  this  is  conspicuously  the  case 
with  industrial  towns,  it  is  true  to  an  equal  extent  of  all  great 
centers  of  population.  The  need  of  giving  the  fullest  considera- 
tion to  the  general  problem  of  transportation  in  the  original 
planning  of  a  city  or  its  various  additions  has  been  emphasized 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  but  the  most  that  can  be  accom- 
phshed  by  such  study  will  be  to  render  it  possible  to  provide 
for  the  expansion  of  transportation  faciHties  as  required  with 
a  minimum  of  disturbance  of  the  general  city  plan.  If  due 
provision  shall  have  been  made  for  getting  passengers  and 
goods  mto  and  out  of  the  city,  manufactories  and  general  busi- 
ness will  be  attracted  and  population  will  increase,  and  as  the 
city  grows  the  problems  of  internal  communication  must  be 
solved.  As  business  increases  the  central  portions  of  the  town 
will  be  given  over  to  it,  the  land  will  become  too  valuable  for 
residential  use,  and  those  who  had  their  homes  in  these  districts 
will  move  further  out.  The  workmen  who  find  emplo>Tnent  in 
the  mills  and  shops  will,  unless  proper  houses  are  provided  for 

54 


The  Transportation  System  55 

them  in  the  vicinity  of  their  work,  go  as  far  as  the  time  consumed 
and  the  rate  of  fare  will  permit  in  order  to  secure  decent  homes 
for  their  families  on  terms  that  they  can  afford  to  pay  either  as 
home  owners  or  tenants.  The  results  of  such  shifting  of  popula- 
tion, while  presenting  some  serious  problems,  are  beneficial.  In 
the  report  of  the  London  Traffic  Branch  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
for  1 9 13,  it  is  stated  that "  no  one  can  doubt  the  benefit  conferred 
on  the  community  by  the  migration  of  population  which  has 
taken  place  and  is  still  in  progress  from  the  central  area  to  the 
healthier  and  happier  surroundings  on  the  outskirts,  and  this 
beneficial  process  can  best  be  stimulated  by  the  provision  of 
such  additional  traveling  facilities  as  will  enable  new  and  more 
distant  areas  to  be  opened  up  for  building."  There  is  not 
infrequently  a  feehng  that  residence  outside  the  city  limits  by 
those  whose  daily  occupation  is  within  the  city  should  be  dis- 
couraged and  that  the  growth  of  towns  beyond  the  city  lines 
is  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  city,  for  the  reason 
that  everyone  who  derives  his  income  from  the  city's  activities 
should  contribute  through  taxation  and  the  trade  resulting  from 
his  domestic  establishment  toward  the  expense  of  the  municipal 
government  and  the  business  of  the  city  shops.  This  feeling 
is  due  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  extent  to  which  every 
town  and  hamlet  outside  of  an  important  urban  district  stimu- 
lates its  growth  and  ministers  to  its  prosperity.  Ample  faciHties 
to  enter  and  leave  a  city  are  as  important  as  those  for  inter- 
communication between  the  different  parts  of  the  same  city. 
In  a  paper  presented  to  the  City  Planning  Conference  in  Chicago, 
in  1 913,  Mr.  Milo  R.  Maltbie  points  out  that  the  city  which 
has  the  best  transportation  facilities  by  land  and  water  is  the 
one  which  will  increase  most  rapidly,  and  that  "  the  city  which 
has  the  cheapest,  most  rapid,  and  most  convenient  facilities  for 
communication  between  its  various  parts  is  the  city,  other 
things  being  equal,  which  has  the  most  productive  and  health- 
ful citizenship."  ' 

It  is  true  that  the  districts  immediately  adjacent  to  railroads 

1  Proceedings  Fifth  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  1913,  page  107. 


56  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

are  not  usually  attractive  and  they  are  commonly  more  shabby 
and  unsightly  than  they  need  be.  They  are  naturally  adapted 
to  manufacturing  but  they  are  too  frequently  given  over  to 
the  poorer  classes  of  houses.  Mr.  Edward  H.  Bennett  has 
observed  that  "  where  many  railroads  radiate  from  the  city 
in  different  directions,  the  triangular-shaped  areas  lying  be- 
tween them  for  a  considerable  distance  out  from  the  center  of 
the  city  are  reduced  to  a  low  level  of  utility,  even  though  they 
may  have  comparatively  high  values  in  the  real  estate  market, 
and  in  these  pockets  are  found  the  worst  tenements  and  slums." 
If  the  general  ground  plan  of  a  city  has  been  laid  out  with 
due  regard  for  the  entry  into  it  of  trunk  Une  railroads  with 
ample  terminal  facilities  and  for  such  connecting  lines  as  will 
provide  for  the  economical  and  expeditious  handhng  of  freight 
and  with  spurs  to  serve  industrial  plants,  and  if  the  water  front 
has  been  so  planned  as  to  provide  for  the  convenience  of  shipping 
and  for  ready  intercommunication  between  rail  and  water 
traffic,  those  facihties  will  be  provided,  as  the  demand  for  them 
grows,  with  a  minimum  of  expense  and  disturbance  of  ordinary 
business.  In  the  EngUsh- speaking  countries  the  railways  are 
still  owned  and  operated  by  private  corporations,  but  there  is 
a  growing  tendency  toward  the  municipal  control  and  in  some 
cases  the  construction  and  ownership  of  terminals,  the  facihties 
of  which  are  open  to  all  railroads  and  ships  on  equal  terms. 
Seaport  cities  have  been  slow  to  appreciate  the  need  of  the 
proper  correlation  if  not  the  unification  of  rail  and  water  ter- 
minals. They  appear  to  have  proceeded  under  the  idea  that 
the  material  brought  into  the  city  is  for  home  consumption,  or 
is  to  be  transformed  into  manufactured  products  before  it  is 
transhipped  to  interior  points,  and  have  not  appreciated  the 
importance  of  their  functions  as  distributing  centers.  Railroad 
terminals  are  often  planned  as  if  there  were  no  other  means  of 
transportation.  Shipping  terminals  are  likewise  designed  as 
though  railroad  connections  were  of  little  or  no  importance.  Only 
recently  has  the  problem  of  port  organization  attracted  the 
attention  which  it  deserves.     Many  of   the  European   cities 


The  Transportation  System  57 

have  been  studying  and  working  out  their  transportation  prob- 
lems for  years  and  their  recent  rapid  increase  in  population  and 
wealth  is  due  in  great  measure  to  their  generous  provision  for 
water  and  rail  terminals. 

The  development  of  the  commerce  of  the  ports  of  Hamburg, 
Bremen  and  Antwerp  has  been  phenomenal.  Mr.  Clapp  in 
his  book  descriptive  of  Hamburg  ^  says  that  the  Hamburg- 
American  line  started  in  1847  with  a  sailing  ship  of  717  register 
tons  called  the  "  Deutschland,"  which  was  the  pride  of  the 
city,  while  in  1914  this  company  had  the  world's  two  largest 
ships,  the  "  Imperator  "  and  the  "  Vaterland,"  each  of  about 
50,000  tons.  It  has  required  a  vast  expenditure  to  improve 
the  harbor  and  the  channel  leading  to  it  in  order  that  these  great 
ships  and  the  large  number  of  other  vessels  frequenting  the  port 
may  be  accommodated.  Mr,  Clapp  says  that  from  1850  to 
1906  Hamburg  spent  62,000,000  marks  in  improving  the  channel 
of  the  Elbe  between  the  city  and  the  sea,  and  that  the  cost 
of  constructing  the  harbor  has  been  400,000,000  marks,  this 
including  9,500,000  marks  for  the  harbor  works  at  Cuxhaven 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  but  not  including  the  Free  Port  ware- 
houses. The  new  piers  of  the  Hamburg-American  Hne  were 
built  by  the  city  at  a  cost  of  32,000,000  marks  and  are  leased 
to  the  company  at  an  annual  rental  of  1,350,000  marks,  repre- 
senting shghtly  less  than  4I  per  cent,  on  the  investment.  The 
water  area  of  the  harbor  in  1909  is  said  to  have  been  1575  acres, 
made  up  as  follows: 

Water  Area  of  Hamburg  Harbor 

Acres 

Basins  for  sea  ships 723 

Basins  for  river  barges 375 

Canals  and  branches  with  sea-ship  depth 36 

Canals  and  branches  with  barge  depth 103 

Main  stream  and  entrances  to  basins 338 

Total 1575 

1 "  The  Port  of  Hamburg,"  by  Edwin  J.  Clapp,  19 12. 


58  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Hamburg  does  not  consider  her  shipping  terminal  as  one  enter- 
prise and  her  railroad  terminals  as  another.  They  are  intimately 
related  and  efficiently  operated  as  a  single  unit.     (PI.  5.) 

Antwerp  is  second  only  to  Hamburg  among  the  ports  of 
Europe  in  the  amount  of  its  sea-going  tonnage.  Extensive 
improvements  and  additions  are  being  made  to  its  harbor,  which 
include  a  change  in  the  course  of  the  Scheldt  by  which  two 
sharp  turns  will  be  removed,  while  the  old  channel,  separated 
from  the  new  by  dykes  with  locks,  will  provide  a  tideless  basin 
six  miles  long  for  an  anchorage.  When  completed  the  harbor 
will  include  1750  acres  of  water  area.  There  are  about  75  acres 
of  sheds  on  the  wharves,  each  with  its  railroad  tracks,  from  one 
to  three  of  which  are  usually  placed  between  the  shed  and  the 
edge  of  the  quay.  Railway  tracks  and  warehouses  are  provided 
for  all  about  the  harbor,  while  a  great  boulevard  is  planned 
to  run  through  the  harbor  reservation.  Distinctive  features 
of  the  Antwerp  water  front  are  the  "  Promenoirs  "  or  elevated 
terraces  built  over  the  dock  sheds  on  the  Quai  Van  Dyke  and 
the  Quai  Jordaens ,  which  are  much  frequented  by  the  people  of 
the  city  and  which  afford  an  extensive  view  of  the  busy  harbor. 

The  remarkable  thing  about  the  ports  above  named  is  that 
they  are  located  miles  from  the  sea  on  rivers  that  have  to  be 
constantly  dredged  at  enormous  cost  to  maintain  a  sufficient 
depth  of  water  for  the  accommodation  of  shipping  and  deepened 
as  larger  vessels  are  built.  Hamburg  is  some  85  miles  up  the 
Elbe,  Bremen  about  75  miles  up  the  Weser,  Antwerp  is  on  the 
Scheldt  60  miles  from  the  sea,  and  all  of  these  cities  have  har- 
bors and  channels  leading  to  them  which  can  float  the  largest 
ocean  Hners. 

The  case  of  Frankfort  is  more  remarkable  still,  although 
this  port  is  confined  to  river  traffic  and  can  be  reached  only 
by  vessels  of  small  draught.  Located  on  the  river  Main  about 
25  miles  from  its  confluence  with  the  Rhine,  which  is,  in  turn, 
more  than  300  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  latter  at  the  Hook 
of  Holland,  Frankfort  has  always  been  a  prosperous  city  with 
a  large  inland  trade,  but  to  make  itself  an  important  terminal 


PLATE  5 


The  shaded  portions  of  this  plan  show  where  grades  were  changed  in  the 
removal  of  the  Pittsburgh  "  Hump."  The  black  indicates  the  widening  of  old  and 
the  cutting  through  of  new  streets.  Reproduced  from  plan  kindly  furnished  by- 
Mr.  N.  S.  Sprague,  Superintendent  of  Construction  (p.  39). 


Plan  of  a  portion  of  the  harbor  of  Hamburg,  85  miles  from  the  sea.     Repro- 
duced from  report  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal  Commission  (p.  58). 


PLATE  6 


The  harbor  of  Duisburg-Ruhrort;  probably  the  greatest  inland  harbor  of 
the  world.  Note  the  complete  co-ordination  of  rail  and  water  terminals.  Repro- 
duced from  the  report  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal  Commission  (p.  60). 


A  plan  for  the  improvement  of  Jamaica  Bay,  New  York,  by  the  creation 
of  a  great  harbor  at  the  back  door  of  the  city  with  a  direct  inlet  from  the 
ocean.  Reproduced  from  the  report  of  the  Jamaica  Bay  Improvement  Com- 
mission (p.  67). 


The  Transportation  System  59 


where  rail  and  water  Unes  meet  and  so  to  co-ordinate  these 
Hnes  as  to  offer  what  are  said  to  be  among  the  best  and  cheapest 
manufacturing  sites  in  all  Europe,  required  vision  and  courage 
of  a  high  order,  which,  however,  were  characteristic  of  Ober- 
burgermeister  Adickes  and  his  associates  in  the  city  govern- 
ment. On  what  is  known  as  the  new  East  Harbor  the  city 
has  spent  some  $18,000,000,  a  third  of  which  was  for  real 
estate,  a  half  for  construction  and  the  rest  for  warehouses, 
equipment  and  interest  on  capital  during  construction.  This 
develpoment  covers  1180  acres,  of  which  350  acres  are  devoted 
to  streets,  railways  and  embankments,  no  acres  to  water  basins, 
and  the  remaining  720  acres  to  sites  for  storage  and  handling 
of  freight,  warehouses  and  industrial  plants.  All  of  these  indus- 
tries are  to  have  adequate  connections  with  the  railway  system. 
The  property  for  this  development  was  purchased  before  it  took 
on  a  speculative  value.  The  purpose  of  the  city  was  to  lease 
rather  than  sell  the  industrial  sites,  but  finding  it  difficult  to 
do  so  it  is  selling  them  on  terms  which,  while  liberal  financially, 
contain  rigid  restrictions.  As  stated  in  the  report  of  the  New 
York  State  Barge  Canal  Terminal  Commission:  "  In  the  case 
of  sale  the  city  protects  itself  against  the  possibihty  of  specu- 
lation by  providing  in  the  contract  a  condition  that  the  site 
may  only  be  used  for  a  certain  purpose,  previously  agreed  upon. 
The  industry  must  be  estabhshed  within  a  fixed  period,  previous 
to  the  expiration  of  which  the  plot  is  not  allowed  to  be  resold. 
Should  an  attempt  be  made  to  disregard  these  conditions,  then 
the  city  has  a  right  to  demand  the  return  of  the  site,  without 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  interest." 

Rotterdam  has  been  brought  within  14  miles  of  the  sea  by 
a  new  channel  made  by  the  Dutch  government  at  a  cost  of 
$1,750,000,  while  the  city  itself  is  spending  large  sums  for  the 
extension  and  improvement  of  its  harbor  which  now  has  an  area 
of  over  500  acres  and,  when  the  additions  are  completed,  will 
cover  about  1300  acres.  Here,  too,  the  railway  tracks  are 
brought  to  every  dock,  basin  and  warehouse,  so  that  it  is  a 
combined  shipping  and  rail  terminal. 


60  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

A  particularly  good  illustration  of  the  complete  co-ordination 
of  rail  and  water  transportation  facilities  is  offered  by  the 
remarkable  harbor  of  Duisburg-Ruhrort  on  the  Rhine  135  miles 
above  Rotterdam  and  45  miles  above  the  boundary  between 
Holland  and  Germany.  This  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  inland 
port  of  Germany  if  not  of  the  world.  The  district  of  Rhenish 
Westphaha,  of  which  it  is  the  commercial  center,  is  thus  de- 
scribed in  the  report  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal  Commis- 
sion: "  A  closely  woven  network  of  railroads  covers  the  entire 
region;  coal  mine  succeeds  coal  mine;  chimneys,  elevators, 
heaps  of  mine  refuse  are  everywhere  to  be  seen.  Thickly  popu- 
lated cities  and  centers  of  trade  lie  close  together,  humming 
with  industrial  activity.  Furnaces,  iron  and  steel  works, 
foundries,  factories,  zinc  and  copper-smelting  works  and  many 
manufactories,  some  of  them  of  the  largest,  unite  in  making  a 
picture  of  industrial  development  unrivaled  in  all  Europe." 
In  1890  there  were  37  miles  of  railroad  tracks  connecting  with 
the  docks  and  this  mileage  was  increased  from  1903  to  1908, 
when  over  $5,occ,cco  were  spent  in  improvements.  The  inti- 
mate connection  between  railroads  and  water  front  is  shown 
by  the  illustration  on  PI.  6,  which,  however,  shows  only  a 
portion  of  the  harbor. 

One  other  Continental  port  will  be  referred  to,  that  of  Havre. 
As  the  average  tidal  range  here  is  17  ft.  with  an  extreme  of 
29  ft.,  closed  docks  are  necessary.  There  is  an  outer  harbor  of 
175  acres  and  ten  inner  basins  with  a  combined  water  area 
of  200  acres.  The  French  government  has  supplied  half  of  the 
funds  for  the  harbor  improvements,  the  other  half  being  fur- 
nished by  the  city.  Railroad  tracks  run  alongside  of  the 
vessels  and  freight  is  handled  cheaply  and  expeditiously. 

London  is  50  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  yet  its 
port,  which  is  under  the  control  of  a  pubhc  trust  or  monoply 
called  the  "  Port  of  London  Authority,"  is  one  of  the  most 
highly  developed  in  the  world.  The  docks  and  wharves  under 
the  control  of  this  body  have  an  appraised  value  of  some 
$185,000,000,  and  the  earnings  in  the  shape  of  dues  collected 


The  Transportation  System  61 

is  supposed  to  provide  for  interest  and  amortization  on  this  sum 
and  whatever  additional  amounts  may  be  required  for  renewals 
and  extensions.  There  are  37  wet  docks  or  tidal  basins  and 
in  these  about  one-half  of  the  water-borne  commerce  of  the 
port  is  handled.  The  docks  include  a  total  land  and  water 
area  of  2467  acres,  a  river  frontage  of  about  three  miles,  28  miles 
of  quay  walls,  and  about  120  miles  of  railway.  As  the  tidal 
range  in  London  is  from  17  to  20  ft.,  the  docks  are  provided 
with  gates.  The  Tilbury  docks,  which  are  the  most  modern, 
are  about  23  miles  below  London  Bridge,  and  include  four  wet 
docks  having  a  length  of  1600  ft.  each  and  widths  of  from 
250  to  600  ft.  and  a  tidal  basin,  all  with  a  depth  of  45  ft. 
below  high  water,  the  combined  water  area  being  73  acres. 
Between  the  tidal  basin  and  the  wet  docks,  there  is  a  lock  700 
ft.  long  divided  into  two  chambers  having  lengths  of  145  and 
555  ft.  respectively.  Sheds  and  warehouses  with  railway  tracks 
and  hydraulic  traveling  cranes  are  located  along  all  the  quay 
walls. 

The  docks  of  Liverpool  and  Birkenhead,  which  form  a  single 
port,  cover  a  total  area  of  1677  acres,  of  which  599  acres  are 
water  with  36  miles  of  quay  walls,  all  provided  with  warehouses, 
sheds,  railway  tracks  and  freight-handling  machiner}-.  There 
are  73  wet  docks  and  basins  and  21  graving  docks.  The  tidal 
range  at  Liverpool  is  from  21  to  35  ft.,  necessitating  the  most 
costly  and  substantial  construction,  while  constant  dredging 
in  the  Mersey  River  and  over  the  bar  at  its  mouth  four  miles 
below  the  docks  is  a  large  item  in  the  cost  of  the  port  improve- 
ment and  maintenance,  upon  which  a  total  of  $200,000,000 
has  been  expended. 

Manchester,  an  inland  city,  has  become  an  important  sea- 
port by  connecting  itself  with  the  Mersey  River  by  means  of 
a  canal  having  a  length  of  35^  miles  and  a  width  of  from  290 
to  370  ft.  with  26  ft.  depth  of  water.  Its  docks  cover  406  acres, 
of  which  120  acres  are  water.  There  are  6|  miles  of  quays  and 
80  miles  of  railways  reaching  every  part  of  the  docks  and 
affording   rail   connection  with    every  part  of  Great  Britain. 


62  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

This  enterprising  city  has  expended  no  less  than  $85,000,000  to 
convert  itself  into  a  seaport. 

The  two  great  capitals  of  South  America  have  shown  fore- 
sight and  enterprise  in  improving  their  transportation  facihties, 
which  have  been  surpassed  by  no  other  cities.  Dr.  E.  T.  Corthell, 
the  well-known  engineer  who  has  been  so  conspicuously  identi- 
fied with  harbor  improvements  in  South  America  and  other 
parts  of  the  world,  has  furnished  the  author  with  some  inter- 
esting data  concerning  these  cities. 

Buenos  Aires  is  older  than  any  of  the  cities  of  North  America, 
having  been  founded  in  1535.  While  located  on  a  broad  estuary 
about  140  miles  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  water  in  front  of 
the  city  is  so  shallow  that  vessels  of  any  size  were  formerly 
obHged  to  anchor  about  twelve  miles  from  the  shore  and  transfer 
their  passengers  and  cargoes  by  small  boats.  This  method  pre- 
vailed until  1889  when  a  system  of  docks  and  channels  leading 
to  them,  which  were  begun  four  years  earher,  were  available 
for  use.  There  are  two  channels,  one  having  a  depth  of  19  ft. 
and  the  other  of  21  ft.  at  low  water,  coming  together  about  5I 
miles  from  the  shore.  Four  great  connecting  docks  were  built, 
each  over  2000  ft.  long  and  more  than  500  ft.  wide,  with  23  ft. 
of  water  at  low  tide  and  with  a  basin  at  both  ends.  The  docks 
are  furnished  with  tidal  gates  to  maintain  the  above  depth  of 
water  when  the  tide  is  exceptionally  low.  Across  the  channels 
connecting  the  docks  are  swing  bridges  for  the  accommodation  of 
vehicular  and  pedestrian  traffic.  The  channels  leading  to 
these  docks  are  320  ft.  wide.  The  original  v/orks  cost  about 
$40,000,000  in  gold,  but  extensive  additions  and  improve- 
ments since  made  or  in  progress  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,000  will 
add  greatly  to  the  capacity  of  the  harbor,  the  new  docks  hav- 
ing a  depth  of  30  ft.,  and  the  channel  leading  to  them  being 
dredged  to  the  same  depth. 

The  effect  of  these  improved  facilities  upon  the  business  of 
the  port  and  the  growth  of  the  city  was  not  only  instantaneous, 
but  has  been,  perhaps,  unprecedented.  Dr.  Corthell  says:  "  When 
the  project  was  first  brought  forward  in  1880,  the  tonnage  of 


The  Transportation  System  63 

the  port  was  not  over  700,000.  The  plans  contemplated 
2,000,000  tons  which  was  considered  extravagant  by  some  people. 
When  the  docks  were  opened  for  traffic  in  1899,  it  had  grown 
to  3,800,000;  in  1901  it  had  reached  8,661,000,  and  it  is  now, 
in  normal  times,  well  up  to  12,000,000.  The  commercial  facili- 
ties have  had  much  influence  upon  the  rapid  increase  in  popu- 
lation. In  1864  it  was  140,000;  in  1887,  400,000;  in  1902, 
864,000;  in  1914  about  1,500,000."  Buenos  Aires  realized  that 
provision  for  water-borne  commerce  would  fail  of  its  purpose 
unless  the  water  terminals  were  properly  correlated  with  rail 
transportation  Unes,  so  the  "  Port  Railway,"  owned  and 
operated  by  the  Federal  Government  of  Argentina,  provides 
direct  access  to  both  sides  of  every  dock  for  the  various  railway 
Unes  connecting  with  it  and  leading  to  every  part  of  the  country. 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  founded  in  1556,  is  located  on  a  bay  having 
an  area  of  about  250  square  miles  surrounded  by  beautiful 
shores  with  lofty  mountains  affording  the  most  strikingly 
picturesque  site  of  any  of  the  world's  great  cities.  While  the 
water  front  has  been  availed  of  to  create  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able driveways  ever  built,  the  needs  of  commerce  have  not 
been  neglected  and  within  the  last  few  years  a  quay  wall  2^ 
miles  long  has  been  constructed,  the  space  behind  it  has  been 
filled  in,  and  on  this  space  has  been  built  a  great  system  of 
warehouses  and  sheds  provided  with  electric  cranes  and  railway 
tracks.  In  front  of  the  wall  is  a  large  anchorage  to  which  a 
channel  33  ft.  deep  has  been  dredged.     (PI.  7.) 

Along  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America,  both  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  and  in  the  United  States,  ambitious  proj- 
ects are  under  way  and  vast  sums  have  been  and  are  to  be 
expended  to  prepare  for  the  increased  commerce  which  is 
expected  to  follow  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
The  London  Times  of  November  13,  19 13,  estimated  that  no 
less  than  $500,000,000  was  being  expended  for  this  purpose— 
$350,000,000  by  railway  and  private  companies  in  building  up 
harbors,  terminals  and  rail  connections,  the  greater  portion  at 
the  ports  of  British  Columbia,  and  $150,000,000  by  the  United 


64  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

States  Government,  cities  and  port  and  harbor  boards.  Accord- 
ing to  the  statement  above  referred  to  the  Vancouver  Harbor 
and  Dock  Extension  Company  had  let  contracts  for  25  miles 
of  dockage  at  a  cost  of  $30,000,000,  while  the  Dominion 
Government  was  spending  $2,500,000  more.  Prince  Rupert  had 
provided  $3,000,000  for  docks  and  the  Dominion  Government 
a  similar  amount  for  a  floating  dry  dock  and  for  deepening  the 
bay.  Victoria  was  building  the  Panama  docks  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500,000  and  the  Dominion  Government  was  constructing  a 
break- water  half  a  mile  long  flanked  by  two  looo-ft.  docks  at 
a  cost  of  $4,000,000,  and  was  about  to  build  what  are  said  to 
be  the  largest  dry  docks  in  the  world  at  an  estimated  cost  of 
$8,000,000.  Seattle  was  spending  $8,000,000  for  docks,  while 
the  State  and  Federal  Governments  were  devoting  $5,000,000 
to  canals  to  connect  Lakes  Washington  and  Union  with  Puget 
Sound,  and  in  addition  to  this  various  county  and  river  com- 
missions were  spending  $3,000,000  in  straightening  and  deep- 
ening the  Duwamish  River.  Tacoma  had  provided  $4,000,000 
and  the  Federal  Government  $500,000  for  dredging  channels, 
including  a  six-mile  canal  to  develop  a  vast  area  of  tidal 
flats,  while  other  towns  on  Puget  Sound  were  spending  $1,000,000 
in  dock  construction.  The  port  of  Portland  was  said  to  be 
devoting  $7,000,000  to  channel  work  and  the  city  $2,500,000 
for  docks  and  warehouses,  while  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment was  building  a  break-water  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,000  and  deepening  the  no  miles 
of  river  from  Portland  to  the  bar.  San  Francisco  had  pro- 
vided $10,000,000  for  dock  improvements,  while  the  Federal 
Government  had  appropriated  $500,000  for  improving  the 
channels;  and  Oakland,  across  the  bay,  had  appropriated 
$5,000,000  for  water-front  development,  while  the  Federal 
Government  was  constructing  a  channel  500  ft.  wide  and  30  ft. 
deep,  reaching  almost  to  the  business  center  of  the  city,  at  a 
cost  of  $7,000,000.  Lo^  ^ngeles,  20  miles  inland  with  no  natural 
harbor,  has  made  itself  a  seaport  by  "  shoestring  "  annexes, 
and  is  spending  $10,000,000  on  docks  in  the  harbor  formed  by  a 


The  Transportation  System 


Q5 


break-water  two  miles  long  constructed  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. (Fig.  4.)  San  Diego,  90  miles  south  of  Los  Angeles, 
has  a  natural  land-locked  harbor  and  is  to  spend  $4,000,000  in 


Fig.  4. — Showing  the  successive  additions  to  Los  Angeles.  The  date  and  area 
of  each  addition  are  shown  by  Table  X,  p.  204.  Prepared  from  map  and 
information  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Homer  Hamlin,  City  Engineer. 

unproving  its  dock  faciUties,  while  the  Federal  Government  is 
dredging  and  building  a  sea  wall  at  a  cost  of  $800,000. 

While  the  great  projects  above  referred  to,  in  which  munici- 
pal, State  and  Federal  Governments  are  participating,  may  not 
be  considered  city  planning  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
term,  they  have  been  cited  as  indicating  the  immense  impor- 


66  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


tance  now  attached  to  the  provision  of  facilities  for  commerce 
and  transportation,  and  as  emphasizing  the  need  of  taking  mto 
account  the  possibiHty  of  such  development  and  the  necessity 
of  so  planning  our  cities  as  to  make  the  provision  of  such  faciU- 
ties  possible  without  needlessly  great  expense  and  without 
serious  disarrangement  of  the  city  plan. 

Many  cities  and  towns  of  moderate  size  located  on  navigable 
waterways,  or  on  waterways  which  could  readily  be  made  navi- 
gable or  the  channels  of  which  could  be  deepened,  are  either 
unable  to  undertake  expensive  improvements  or  are  disposed 
to  rely  upon  the  State  or  Federal  Government  to  make  such 
improvements  at  general  pubHc  expense.     The  aggregate  annual 
expenditures  of  the  National  Government  on  projects  of  this 
kind  have  been  enormous.     There  has  lately  been  a  disposition 
to  adopt  a  poHcy  of  co-operation  under  which  appropriations 
will  be  governed  largely  by  the  disposition  of  the  locality  to 
assume  its  share  of  the  burden,  the  result  being  that  assistance 
will  be  extended  first  to  those  cities  and  communities  which 
manifest  a  desire  to  help  themselves.     An  excellent  illustration 
of  this  plan  of  co-operation  is  afforded  in  the  case  of  the  Jamaica 
Bay  improvement  in  New  York  city.     This   shallow  bay  Kes 
between  the  Rockaway  peninsula  and  the  Brooklyn  shore  and 
has  a  water  area  of  16,170  acres,  while  within  its  limits  and 
about  its  shores  are  marsh  lands,  which  are  completely  covered 
at  extreine  flood  tides,  comprising  an  additional  area  of  12,700 
acres,  making  a  total  of  about  45  square  miles.     The  conversion 
of  this  into  an  enormous  harbor  would  involve  a  task  less  difficult 
than  those  which  have  been  undertaken  by  some  of  the  European 
cities   already  mentioned    in  order    to    create  harbors  whose 
areas  are  in  no  case  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  that  of  Jamaica 
Bay.    The  entrance  from  this  harbor  would  be  direct  from  the 
ocean,  avoiding  the  long  passage  through  the  lower  and  upper 
bays  and  the  Hudson  or  East  River.     Vessels  could  dock  at 
the  back  door  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  where  there  is  an 
abundance  of  cheap  land  suitable  for  manufacturing  and  ware- 
housing, while  a  railroad,  part  of  a  trunk  line  system,  crosses  the 


PLATE  7 


The  water  front  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  upper  view  shows  the  boulevard 
from  the  "  Palace  Monroe."  The  lower  is  a  bit  of  the  commercial  water  front. 
Both  are  reproduced  from  photographs  kindly  furnished  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Corthell 
(p.  63). 


PLATE  8 


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The  Transportation  System  67 

bay  on  a  long  trestle.  In  1906  a  commission  was  created  to  study 
and  report  upon  the  possibihty  of  converting  this  bay  into  a  har- 
bor. The  illustration  on  PI.  6  shows  one  of  the  plans  suggested  by 
this  commission  and  indicates  the  wonderful  opportunities  which 
are  here  presented.  The  plan  is  Httle  more  than  a  sketch  and 
has  not  been  worked  out  in  detail,  and  it  is  quite  apparent  that 
the  need  of  more  adequate  railroad  faciUties  in  connection  with 
a  water-front  development  of  such  magnitude  has  not  been 
appreciated.  The  plan  suggests  railway  tracks  along  the  quay 
walls  with  spurs  running  out  on  the  piers,  but  there  is  no  pro- 
vision for  the  extensive  classification  and  storage  yards  which 
would  be  required  in  connection  with  such  a  great  water  terminal. 
The  Federal  Government  investigated  the  feasibility  of  the 
project,  and  an  agreement  was  made  with  the  city  of  New 
York  to  the  effect  that,  when  the  city  should  have  provided 
$1,000,000  toward  the  cost  of  the  improvement,  the  government 
would  undertake  to  dredge  the  main  channels,  or,  if  the  city 
did  the  work  of  dredging,  the  government  would  allow  the  city 
eight  cents  a  cubic  yard  for  all  material  removed.  The  first 
contract  which  was  made  was  for  a  price  slightly  under  eight 
cents  a  cubic  yard,  so  that  a  beginning  of  the  physical  work 
was  made  without  expense  to  the  city.  The  dredged  material 
can  be  used  to  fill  in  the  low  lands  adjoining  and  make  them 
suitable  for  industrial  development,  and  the  city's  funds  can 
thus  be  devoted  in  large  part  to  the  acquisition  of  the  bordering 
land  and  the  creation  of  the  subsidiary  channels.  The  problem 
of  maintaining  the  inlet  from  the  ocean  has  given  much  concern 
to  the  Federal  authorities  and  is  not  yet  completely  solved. 
An  essential  feature  of  the  project  will  be  the  provision  of 
adequate  cormections  with  trunk  line  railroads,  so  that  all  can 
be  accommodated  on  equal  terms,  and  to  insure  this  such  a  Hne 
should  be  controlled,  if  not  owned  and  operated,  by  the  city. 

Speaking  of  the  possibihties  of  such  an  improvement  and  the 
unusual  opportunity  offered,  Dr.  E.  L.  Corthell  says:  "  The 
area  and  the  frontage  of  Jamaica  Bay  would  take  in  comfortably 
some  of  the  largest  ports  in  the  world,  and  in  any  European 


68  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

country  would  be  eagerly  occupied  for  commercial  purposes 
when  as  near  to  existing  ports  and  as  accessible  as  this  is  to 
New  York.  It  is  just  as  important  to  ameliorate  the  industrial 
conditions  as  to  furnish  additional  commercial  facihties.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  if  industries  can  have,  within  a  dis- 
tance from  the  new  Municipal  Building  of  New  York  city  no 
greater  than  from  there  to  Central  Park,  large  tracts  of  cheap 
land  on  a  deep  water  front,  available  to  ocean,  interior  and 
coastwise  navigation  and  to  railroad  facihties,  manufacturers 
will  eagerly  seek  such  a  locality." 

When  a  city  is  served  by  a  great  number  of  trunk  hne  rail- 
roads, of  which  Chicago  is  probably  the  most  conspicuous 
instance,  and  when  nearly  all  of  these  Hnes  have  their  termini 
in  such  city,  it  is  quite  likely  that  each  will  have  estabHshed  its 
terminal  independently  of  the  others,  and  that  subsequent  con- 
nections between  them  will  be  difficult  and  costly.  There  will 
be  a  great  number  of  terminals,  those  for  passengers  often 
having  commodious  and  handsome  stations,  while  those  for 
freight  are,  as  a  rule,  unsightly  and  exercise  a  bHghting  influence 
upon  the  parts  of  the  city  in  which  they  are  located.  Chicago 
has  six  separate  passenger  terminals  within  the  limited  area 
known  as  the  "  loop  district,"  and,  while  the  extraordinary 
growth  of  the  city  could  not  have  been  anticipated  when  the 
original  city  and  its  successive  additions  were  planned,  the 
problem  of  so  connecting  the  various  Hnes  as  to  reduce  the 
number  of  separate  terminals  and  the  cost  of  transferring  freight 
and  passengers  differs  only  in  magnitude  from  that  presented 
in  any  other  railroad  center.  The  civic  committee  of  the 
City  Club  of  Chicago  has  made  a  careful  study  of  this  problem 
and  with  its  permission  several  of  the  plans  included  in  its 
valuable  report  are  reproduced.  Fig.  5  shows  the  maze  of 
railroads  entering  and  traversing  the  city,  each  one  of  which 
must  have  a  serious  effect  upon  the  adjacent  property,  condemn- 
ing it  to  a  kind  of  occupancy  and  a  character  of  improvement 
which  will  give  it  a  distinction  for  ugliness  if  it  does  not  pro- 
duce a  succession  of  slums.     In  the  report  above  referred  to, 


The  Transportation  System  69 


which  was  prepared  by  Mr.  George  E.  Hooker,  Civic  Secretary 
of  the  club,  the  manner  in  which  this  jumble  of  railroad  lines  has 
grown  up  is  described  as  follows:  "  The  criss-crossing  of  rail- 
way lines — each  line  an  independent  enterprise  and  welcomed 


Fig.  5. — Plan  showing  the  different  trunk  line  railroads  entering  the  city 
of  Chicago,  each  on  its  own  right  of  way.  This  and  Figs.  6  and  7  are 
reproduced  by  permission  of  the  City  Club  of  Chicago  from  a  report  made 
by  that  body. 

as  such  by  a  land-speculating  pubHc,— which  began  so  con- 
spicuously in  the  fifties ,  has  continued  and  grown  until  we  have 
our  present  network  of  steam  railroads,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able examples  of  chaos  ever  produced  by  human  activity." 
The  passenger  terminals  are  badly  scattered  and,  while  some 


70 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


occupy  beautiful  stations  with  every  device  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  passengers,  and  some  of  them  are  used  by  several 
lines,  through  passengers  are  compelled  to  traverse  the  streets 
from  one  station  to  another  unless  the  outgoing  line  happens 


RANDOLPH    ST; 


J«CKSON       _     . 
WN  BUREN    8lj 

■J 


J[ZD[I'5t!°a|. 


□□□□□□□□□n 
□□□□□□□□no 
□□a(ziannnnn_ 

^□□□□□□□annn 
□I      |H'^HS!2^ 


iWA 
raiziD 


DDDDDnan 
DDDDnnDn 


:  en  en  CD  en 

3  en  C3  en  IT) 


Qgnn 


MATHER      -f^ll—K-^         1^1— ',     ,_ 

■II ^000  □ 

II ^r— ii-ir-ii-i 

nniziD^ 


POLK 
EWING^ 

QUER     8T, 
TAYLOR 


^□□^□□nDDDODDnn 


QODDDDDD 
.KlDDDDnn 


Fig.  6. — Plan  showing  location  of  the  six  passenger  railway  terminals  of 

Chicago. 


to  use  the  same  station  as  does  the  line  by  which  they  arrive. 
(Fig.  6.)  One  of  the  trunk  Hues  occupies  the  lake  front,  making 
it  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  city  to  carry  out  its  ambitious 
scheme  of  water-front  parks. 

A  study  has  been  made  for  the  City  Club  by  Mr.  Bion  J. 
Arnold  for  a  simplification  of  the  plan,  the  economic  advantages 


The  Transportation  System 


71 


of  which  to  the  city  and  also  to  the  railroads  are  apparent  from 
an  examination  of  Fig.  7.  It  may  be  argued  that  Chicago's 
wonderful  growth  could  not  have  been  anticipated  even  by  a 
city  planner  possessing    exceptional  imagination,  and  anyone 


Fig.  7. — Plan  prepared  by  Mr.  Bion  J.  Arnold  for  the  City  Club  of  Chicago  to 
simplify  the  trunk  railroad  system,  each  line  being  on  an  existing  right 
of  way. 

who,  even  a  generation  ago,  should  have  attempted  to  make 
provision  for  the  accommodation  of  the  enormous  railroad 
business  which  now  exists  would  have  been  considered  mad. 
This  is  doubtless  true  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the  business,  but 
if  all  of  the  railroads  had  been  confined  to  certain  well-defined 


72  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  contiguous  routes,  and  if  places  had  been  set  aside  for 
yards  for  classification  and  exchange  of  freight,  it  would  simply 
have  been  necessary  to  enlarge  these  facilities,  confining  them 
to  certain  sections  instead  of  allowing  them  to  be  scattered  over 
the  entire  city,  multiplying  needlessly  the  number  of  unsightly 
spots.  It  may  be  urged  that  a  city  of  nearly  two  and  a  half 
millions  of  people  needs  a  large  number  of  distributing  points, 
and  that  the  more  such  points  there  are  the  shorter  will  be  the 
haul  through  the  city  streets,  but  the  tracks  serving  these 
distributing  centers  should  be  open  to  all  lines.  If  a  merchant 
or  manufacturer  receives  goods  from  New  York  or  New  Orleans 
or  Milwaukee,  or  if  he  wishes  to  make  shipments  to  Pittsburgh 
or  Indianapolis  or  Denver,  he  should  not  be  compelled  to  go 
to  a  different  part  of  the  city  to  receive  or  deliver  the  goods 
arriving  or  leaving  by  a  particular  line.  He  should  be  able  to 
use  the  nearest  and  most  conveniently  located  freight  station 
whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  or  whatever  may  be  the 
destination  of  his  goods  or  by  whatever  Hne  they  may  be  carried. 
This  is  a  fundamental  economic  principle  which  holds  good 
whether  the  town  be  large  or  small,  whether  the  transpor- 
tation lines  serving  it  be  few  or  many.  The  co-ordination  of  the 
railway  lines  and  the  distribution  of  the  stations  in  Berlin  is  a 
good  example.     (PI.  ii.) 

The  problem  of  co-ordinating  the  railroad  lines  serving 
New  York  is  an  especially  serious  one  owing  to  the  natural 
obstacles  to  their  proper  connection.  The  great  navigable 
water-ways  which  give  this  city  and  the  district  tributary 
to  it  a  commanding  position  as  a  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing center  render  the  problem  peculiarly  difficult  of  solu- 
tion. But  one  trunk  line  railroad,  the  New  York  Central, 
has  direct  rail  connection  between  the  great  center  of  popula- 
tion on  Manhattan  Island  and  other  parts  of  the  country  for 
the  handling  of  freight,  and  this  system  reaches  only  the 
northeastern  portion  of  the  United  States  by  way  of  the  Hudson 
River  valley.  The  New  Haven  road,  serving  New  England, 
stops  at  the  Harlem  River.     All  of  the  other  fines  have  their 


The  Transportation  System 


73 


Fig.  8.— Railroad  terminals  of  New  York.  Freight  cars  are  moved  from  the  rail 
terminals  to  the  piers  shown  in  black  by  means  of  transfer  floats.  Repro- 
duced from  a  map  published  by  the  IMerchants  Ass'n  of  New  York. 


74  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

rail  termini  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  and  transfer  their  freight  cars  across  the  river  by  means  of 
floats.  (Fig,  8.)  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has,  at  enor- 
mous expense,  brought  its  passenger  business  to  Manhattan 
Island  by  two  tracks  in  tunnel  under  the  Hudson,  and  has  four 
tracks  under  the  East  River  to  reach  its  passenger  terminal 
yard  on  Long  Island,  where  it  connects  with  the  Long  Island 
railroad  system,  which  it  controls,  but  it  is  not  allowed,  under 
the  terms  of  its  franchise,  to  use  these  tracks  for  freight  busi- 
ness. It  has  established  a  great  freight  terminal  on  the  New 
Jersey  side  of  the  Upper  Bay  at  Greenville,  and  opposite  this, 
in  Brooklyn,  is  the  terminus  of  the  New  York  Connecting  Rail- 
way which  swings  around  through  the  boroughs  of  Brooklyn 
and  Queens  and  is  to  connect  with  the  New  Haven  road  and 
New  England  by  an  enormous  bridge  across  the  East  River 
with  long  viaduct  approaches.     (PI.  9.) 

There  are  extensive  plans  for  a  marginal  freight  railroad 
along  the  water  front  of  the  southerly  part  of  Brooklyn,  which 
the  city  proposes  to  build  and  lease  for  operation  to  a  corpora- 
tion in  which  all  of  the  trunk  lines  will  be  represented.  (Fig.  9.) 
This  line  will  have  no  rail  connection  with  any  of  the  roads 
except  by  way  of  the  New  York  Connecting  Railroad,  above 
referred  to,  but  will  reach  all  of  them  by  car  floats. 

There  are  two  great  passenger  railway  terminals  in  New 
York  city,  the  Grand  Central  Station  of  the  New  York  Central, 
which  also  supplies  trackage  and  terminal  facilities  to  the  New 
Haven  system,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Station,  the  relative 
location  of  which  is  shown  by  Fig.  10.  While  the  Grand  Central 
is  strictly  a  terminal  or  dead-end  station,  its  enormous  size 
permits  the  serious  limitations  of  such  stations  to  be  partly 
overcome  by  the  use  of  loops  on  the  two  underground  levels, 
the  upper  for  express  and  the  lower  for  local  trains,  enabHng  all 
trains,  after  entering  the  incoming  part  of  the  station,  to  pass 
around  the  stub-end  tracks  to  the  outgoing  side  without  back- 
switching.  The  elaborate  yet  convenient  system  of  connec- 
tions between  this  station  and  the  various  underground  Hues 


reme  left.     Reproduced  Lj-  kind  permission  of  the  Engineering  News  (p.  ■,4). 


\  iv-W  showing  llie  N'l 


The  Transportation  System 


75 


The  Transportation  System 


75 


76  The  Planning  of  the  Modem  City 


of  the  city's  transit  system  which  reach  it  is  shown  by  PI.  8. 
The  introduction  of  ramps  instead  of  stairways  is  one  of  the 
features  of  this  most  modern  of  the  world's  great  railway  ter- 
minals. The  Pennsylvania  Station,  while  really  a  terminal  for 
the  Pennsylvania  lines  from  the  South  and  West  and  for  the 
Long  Island  Unes  from  the  East,  has  the  advantages  of  a  through 
station  in  its  train  movement,  as  all  of  its  trains  arriving  from  the 
South  or  West  pass  through  the  station  and  under  the  East 
River  to  a  great  terminal  yard  on  Long  Island.  (Fig.  lo.)  The 
character  of  these  station  buildings  and  their  position  with 
respect  to  the  street  system  are  referred  to  in  the  chapter  devoted 
to  pubhc  buildings. 

Ample  facilities  for  external  communication  will  stimulate 
commerce  and  increase  of  population  will  follow.  As  the  popu- 
lation grows  the  problem  of  internal  transportation  assumes 
greater  importance,  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  intra-urban 
transit  system  will  depend  to  a  large  degree  upon  the  city  plan. 
Mr.  Maltbie,  in  the  paper  already  referred  to,  says:  "It 
seems  to  have  been  taken  for  granted  frequently  that  one  may 
plan  a  city  and  then  depend  upon  transportation  experts  to 
provide  transit  facilities;  that  different  areas  can  be  set  aside 
for  factories,  shops,  theaters,  offices,  residences,  parks,  etc., 
and  that  then  some  sort  of  transportation  system  can  be  evolved 
to  fit  the  necessities  of  the  plan.  But  if  conscious  city  planning 
is  to  be  substituted  for  accidental  and  haphazard  development, 
the  two  things  must  go  hand  in  hand;  that  is,  transportation 
facilities  must  be  considered  at  the  same  time  that  other  fac- 
tors are  under  discussion.  There  is  a  marked  tendency  among 
city  planners  to  use  curved  streets  and  broken  streets,  streets 
that  constantly  change  their  direction.  From  an  artistic  stand- 
point these  plans  are  often  very  successful,  and  the  treatment 
of  the  long  straight  street  is  a  difficult  matter,  but  the  old 
epigrammatic  statement  that  the  curved  line  is  for  pleasure 
and  the  straight  line  for  business  holds  true  today.  Cheap 
rapid  transit  would  be  practically  impossible  in  a  city  wholly 
composed  of  curved  streets  or  streets  which  change  their  direc- 


The  Transportation  System 


77 


Fig.  io. — Plan  showing  the  location  of  the  Pennsylvania  R.R.  station  in  New 
York  (A),  the  river  tunnels  and  the  yard  on  Long  Island.  The  New  York 
Central  Terminal  is  at  B. 


78  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

tion  at  short  distances.  The  cost  of  construction  would  be 
large.  Private  property  would  have  to  be  taken  at  many 
points.  Large  cost  of  construction  would  mean  large  fixed 
charges.  Operating  expenses  would  be  increased  because  the 
loss  of  current  in  acceleration  and  retardation  and  cost  of 
maintenance  and  repairs  would  be  heavy.  Curves  reduce 
speed;  reduced  speed  means  increased  time  in  transit;  an  in- 
crease in  time  means  a  reduction  in  the  area  which  can  be 
served,  which  in  turn  is  a  cause  of  congestion." 

To  plan  the  streets  of  a  city  so  that  any  one  or  all  of  them 
may  acconunodate  transit  Unes  would  be  folly.  Some  of  these 
Hnes  will  be  much  more  intensively  used  than  others,  that  is, 
some  will  be  trunk  lines  and  others  will  be  feeders.  In  a  large 
city  the  trunk  Hnes  will  carry  such  a  heavy  traffic  that  its  accom- 
modation on  the  street  surface  will  be  impossible  unless  it  moves 
very  slowly,  and  slow  speed  means  restricted  capacity.  They 
must  therefore  be  placed  over  or  under  the  streets,  on  elevated 
structures  or  in  tunnels.  Some  of  the  most  important  Unes, 
also,  will  need  three  or  four  tracks  to  accommodate  the  traffic. 
Elevated  railroads  offer  such  serious  obstruction  to  light  and 
air  and  are  so  noisy,  and,  as  commonly  constructed,  disfigure  the 
streets  to  such  an  extent  that  they  will  not  often  be  tolerated. 
In  the  case  of  the  elevated  railroad  in  Philadelphia,  which  is  built 
with  a  solid  floor  and  is  stone  ballasted,  the  noise  has  been 
greatly  reduced.  If  the  steel  structure  is  encased  in  concrete,  the 
disfigurement  of  the  street  is  much  less  and  the  noise  can  be 
still  further  reduced.  Of  the  latter  class  is  the  elevated  railroad 
through  the  Fen  ways  in  Boston.  The  three- track  elevated  rail- 
way in  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York  city,  is  composed  of  a 
series  of  arches  between  piers  which  are  themselves  pierced  by 
arched  openings  designed  to  accommodate  a  double  track  sur- 
face railroad.  This  street  is  200  ft.  in  width,  the  part  in  which 
the  elevated  railway  is  located  having  two  roadways  each 
43  ft.  wide,  the  space  between  being  74  ft.  in  width,  so  that  there 
is  room  for  planting  on  each  side  of  the  elevated  structure, 
which  is  itself  77  ft.  from  the  side  lines  of  the  street,  so  that  there 


PLATE  10 


The  3-track  rapid  transit  railroad  in  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York.  The 
upper  view  shows  the  structure  between  stations;  the  lower  at  stations.  Repro- 
duced from  photographs  kindly  furnished  by  the  Public  Service  Commission  for 
the  First  New  York  district  (p.  79)- 


PLATE  11 


Plan  showing  the  excellent  system  of  railway  terminals  in  Berlin  (p.  72). 


Lower  Broadway,  New  York,  under  which  a  4-track  rapid  transit  subway 
is  being  constructed  without  interference  with  street  traffic.  This  and  the  views 
on  Pis.  12,  13  arid  14  are  reproduced  from  photographs  kindly  furnished  by  the 
Public  Service  Commission  (p.  81). 


The  Transportation  System 


79 


is  no  obstruction  of  Kght  and  air,  while  with  a  solid  floor,  stone 
ballast  and  parapet  walls  outside  the  tracks  there  will  be  httle 
noise.  (Fig.  ii  and  PI.  lo.)  This  is  probably  the  best  t>^e  of 
elevated  railway  yet  built  within  street  Hnes.  While  streets 
can  rarely  have  such  unusual  dimensions,  if  a  few  avenues  lead- 
ing directly  out  from  the  main  centers  of  large  cities  were  given 
a  width  of  150  ft.,  it  would  be  possible  to  provide  elevated  lines 
of  this  kind  which  would  be  far  more  agreeable  to  ride  on  and 
would  cost  less  to  build  than  subways.    Where  underground 


Fig.  II. — Cross-section  of  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York,  with  three-track 
elevated  railroad  on  reinforced  concrete  structure  and  surface  tracks 
beneath. 


railroads  will  ultimately  be  required  and  where  they  are  built 
in  advance  of  extensive  development  and  before  surface  traffic 
is  great,  and  where  streets  are  sufficiently  wide,  they  can  be 
built  in  open  cuts  which  need  not  be  covered  until  the  space 
above  them  is  required  for  street  purposes.  In  cases  where 
the  street  width  is  sufficient  the  sides  can  be  sloped  and  retain- 
ing walls  omitted  until  the  tracks  are  covered,  and  the  space 
occupied  by  the  slopes  can  eventually  be  used  for  additional 
tracks.  (Figs.  12  and  13.)  The  first  rapid-transit  subway 
built  in  New  York  had  for  the  greater  part  of  its  length  four 
tracks,  on  two  of  which  express  trains  of  ten  cars  are  operated 


80 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


during  the  rush  hours  at  intervals  of  one  and  three-quarters 
minutes  with  stations  about  one  and  a  half  miles  apart 
and  on  the  other  two  tracks  local  trains  of  six  cars  at  the  same 
intervals  and  with  stations  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart. 
With  improved  safety  devices  and  methods  of  speed  control 


Fig.  12. — Open  cut   for  double-track    rapid-transit   railroad    in    street   loo   ft. 
wide;  to  be  converted  into  a  tunnel  when  necessary. 


the  capacity  of  this  railroad  has  been  constantly  increased 
until,  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  19 15,  the  average  number 
of  passengers  carried  each  day  was  1,016,429,  an  increase  over 
the  previous  year  of  15,214.  The  elevated  Hnes  have  mean- 
while been  or  are  being  equipped  with  third  or  fourth  tracks, 


Fig.  13. — Showing  open  cut  for  double-track  rapid-transit  railroad  with  side 
slopes  in  a  street  150  ft.  wide;  to  be  converted  into  a  four-track  under- 
ground road  when  necessary. 

permitting,  in  the  former  case,  the  operation  of  express  service 
in  the  direction  of  greatest  passenger  movement  during  the 
rush  hours,  and  in  the  latter  case  a  complete  express  service 
at  all  hours. 

This  work  is  being  done  in  connection  with  a  comprehensive 
extension  of  the  transit  system  of  the  city  at  an  expense  of 


The  Transportation  System  81 

about  $330,000,000,  of  which  sum  the  city  contributes  about 
one-half,  and  the  two  traction  companies  operating  the  present 
lines  the  other  half.  Heretofore  the  building  of  new  rapid 
transit  lines  has  been  confined  to  the  parts  of  the  city  where 
population  was  dense  and  existing  facihties  were  overtaxed. 
Under  the  present  plans  new  lines  are  being  carried  into  parts 
of  the  city  which  are  still  undeveloped.  The  effect  of  this  poUcy 
upon  taxable  values  will  be  very  great.  There  may  be  a  de- 
preciation in  certain  congested  sections  where  present  high 
values  have  been  brought  about  by  a  demand  for  space  which 
exceeded  the  supply  and  congestion  has  resulted,  but  new  areas 
will  become  available  for  development  and  there  will  be  a  diffu- 
sion of  realty  values  with  a  considerable  net  increase.  The 
magnitude  of  this  undertaking  and  the  difficulties  attending  its 
construction  are  illustrated  by  Pis.  11,12  and  13.  The  extent 
to  which  the  transit  facilities  of  the  city  are  to  be  increased  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  present  rapid-transit  system 
includes  a  total  track  mileage,  both  elevated  and  subway,  of 
296  miles,  while  the  enlarged  system  will  amount  to  620  miles. 
The  road  mileage  of  the  new  construction  will  be  88.86  miles, 
of  which  48.12  will  be  subway,  36.55  elevated  and  4.19  miles 
will  be  on  the  East  River  bridges,  while  the  road  length  of 
the  original  subway  was  but  25.72  miles.  The  total  amount  of 
material  to  be  excavated  was  about  12,800,000  cubic  yards,  the 
concrete  required  2,850,000  cubic  yards,  the  steel  to  be  put  in 
place  was  620,000  tons,  and  nearly  40  miles  of  sewers  had  to  be 
built.  On  September  i,  191 5,  it  was  estimated  that  about 
10,000,000  cubic  yards  of  excavation  had  been  completed, 
1,500,000  cubic  yards  of  concrete  had  been  placed  and  360,000 
tons  of  steel  had  been  erected  or  delivered,  and  that  19,748  men 
were  employed  on  the  work  on  that  date.  These  lines  are 
supplemented  by  an  extensive  system  of  surface  railways  which 
serve  as  feeders  to  or  distributors  from  the  main  system.  While 
elevated  railroads  were  formerly  built  in  some  of  the  most 
important  and  intensely  developed  parts  of  the  city,  the  recent 
policy  has  been  to  confine  them  to  outlying  districts  where 


82  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

property  is  comparatively  low  in  value  and  the  crying  need 
is  transit  of  some  sort  which  will  put  these  sections  in  close 
touch  with  the  business  centers.  Rapid  transit  is  the  thin 
desired,  while  the  manner  in  which  it  is  supplied,  whether  over 
or  under  the  street  surface — it  cannot  be  rapid  if  on  the  street 
surface — is  a  secondary  consideration.  The  relative  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  underground  and  elevated  railroads  have 
been  summarized  by  Mr.  George  D.  Snyder  as  follows: 

"  From  the  standpoint  of  the  passenger,  the  elevated  is 
much  preferable,  as  artificial  ventilation  and  artificial  illumina- 
tion during  dayhght  hours  are  unnecessary,  and  the  passenger 
has  a  view  from  the  windows  instead  of  the  bare  walls  of  the 
subway  at  which  to  look.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  user  of 
the  public  thoroughfares  and  the  owner  or  tenant  of  abutting 
property,  the  underground  railway  is  much  to  be  preferred; 
and  moreover  the  trains  are  not  subject  to  delay  from  bad  con- 
ditions of  weather.  An  elevated  railway  is  an  obstruction  in 
the  streets,  an  eyesore  and  an  interference  with  the  light,  air 
and  quietude  of  its  surroundings  and,  when  worked  by  a  steam 
locomotive,  it  is  a  creator  of  smoke,  cinders  and  dust. 

''  The  first  elevated  Hnes  were  claimed  by  the  owners  to  be  a 
proper  use  of  the  pubHc  streets,  just  as  the  tramways  were, 
but,  after  long  Htigation,  the  courts  have  decided  that  the 
elevated  railways  must  pay  damages  on  account  of  interference 
with  Hght,  air  and  access.  In  narrow  streets,  where  the  prop- 
erty is  fully  developed  with  high-class  buildings,  such  damages 
may  equal  the  difference  in  cost  between  an  elevated  and  an 
underground  road;  but  in  some  cases  the  courts,  in  deciding 
the  amount  of  damages,  have  considered  the  compensatory 
benefits  accruing  to  the  property  from  its  increased  accessibility 
to  the  business  centers.  In  many  quarters  the  rateable  value  of 
property  abutting  on  a  street  with  an  elevated  railway  is  greater 
than  in  similar  adjacent  streets  without  an  elevated  line."  ^ 

1  "  City  Passenger  Transportation  in  the  United  States,"  by  George  Duncan 
Snyder.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Vol. 
CXCIII. 


PLATE  12 


Building  a  4-track,  double-deck,  rapid-transit  railroad  under  a  busy  street 
in  New  York  without  interrupting  surface  traffic.  The  upper  view  shows  steam 
shovel  work  in  rock  tunnel;  the  lower  shows  method  of  supporting  the  street 
in  cut-and-cover  work  (p.  81). 


PLATE  13 


A  4-track,  double-deck,  rapid-transit  railway   under   construction   with   steel 
erected  (p.  8iJ. 


The  Transportation  System  83 

The  engineering  and  financial  difficulties  involved  in  the 
construction  of  an  underground  rapid-transit  line  in  a  narrow 
street  lined  with  tall  buildings  is  well  illustrated  by  the  case 
of  the  two-track  line  now  being  built  under  WilKam  street,  New 
York  (PI.  14).  The  subway  route  follows  this  street  for  half 
a  mile  and  some  of  its  features  have  been  thus  described  by  one 
of  the  engineers  engaged  in  its  construction:  "The  structure 
will  be  of  standard  two-track  type,  requiring  an  excavation 
about  29  ft.  in  width,  which  at  stations  will  be  increased  to 
the  full  width  of  40  ft.  between  building  hues  to  provide  for 
island  platforms,  from  which  stairways  will  extend  to  a  mezzanine 
passageway  connecting  with  the  entrance  stairs  to  the  surface. 
The  depth  to  subgrade  will  vary  from  25  to  31  ft.  below  the  sur- 
face, and  in  general  the  excavation  will  extend  from  three  to  five 
ft.  below  high  water,  with  a  maximum  of  14  ft.  at  Maiden  Lane 
and  20  ft.  at  Pearl  street  below  that  datum.  As  developed  by 
the  borings,  the  material  will  be  coarse  sand  with  some  gravel, 
grading  into  fine  sand  which,  below  ground  water,  becomes 
quicksand."  The  difficulties  of  the  work  are  reflected  in  the 
cost,  as  indicated  by  the  lowest  bid  which,  based  upon  the 
preliminary  estimate  of  quantities,  was  $2,254,670  or  about 
$850  a  linear  foot  of  subway,  the  total  cost  being  divided  among 
the  following  items : 

Excavation  for  subway $701,750 

Underpinning  of  buildings 604,500 

Masonry,  all  classes 248,550 

Structural  steel 214,800 

Sewers 49,000 

All  other  items 436,070 

Total $2,254,670 

The  large  proportion  of  the  cost  represented  by  the  under- 
pinning and  care  of  buildings  will  be  understood  when  the 
narrowness  of  the  street  and  the  character  of  the  soil  are 
taken  into  account,  and  from  the  further  fact  that  along  the 
part  of  the  street  to  be  occupied  by  the  subway  there  are  45 


84  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

buildings  less  than  seven  stories  in  height  having  an  assessed 
valuation  of  $7,000,000,  20  from  seven  to  twelve  stories  high 
with  a  value  of  $18,000,000  and  ten  of  from  thirteen  to 
twenty  stories  with  a  valuarion  of  $15,000,000.  It  would  be 
difficult,  to  find  a  more  forcible  illustration  of  the  need  of  pro- 
viding in  the  plan  of  a  city  sufficient  streets  whose  position 
will  make  them  available  for  rapid  transit  routes  and  whose 
width  will  be  sufficient  to  permit  the  construction  of  such  lines 
without  an  expense  which  would  be  prohibitive  in  most  cities. 

The  difficulty  and  cost  of  constructing  rapid-transit  lines 
in  city  streets  are  so  great  and  both  are  so  intensified  in  narrow 
streets  that  the  provision  of  adequate  street  widths  for  transit 
purposes  is  fully  justified.  Mr.  J.  V.  Davies  has  estimated  the 
cost  of  constructing  double-track  roads  of  different  t>^es  and 
under  varying  conditions,  these  estimates  including  track  and 
structural  equipment,  but  not  including  power,  rights  of  way, 
easements  or  franchise  charges,  the  figures,  which  are  given  in 
Table  III,  being  reduced  to  cost  per  mile  of  single  track. ^ 

In  moderate-sized  cities  in  the  United  States  practically  all 
of  the  passenger  movement  will  be  by  means  of  street  surface 
railroads.  The  growth  of  such  cities  is  likely  to  be  more  sym- 
metrical than  where  real  rapid  transit  is  supplied;  that  is,  they 
will,  owing  to  the  necessarily  limited  speed  at  which  cars  can 
move  through  traffic  streets  and  the  length  of  time  required  for 
long  trips,  grow  outward  from  the  central  part  of  the  town  in 
all  directions  where  the  topography  will  permit.  Under  such 
conditions  there  should  be  some  means  of  approximately  deter- 
mining how  many  transit  lines  will  be  required,  how  far  these 
should  be  apart  and  what  will  be  their  probable  directions. 
Mr.  Daniel  L.  Turner,  Deputy  Engineer  of  Subway  Construc- 
tion of  the  PubHc  Service  Commission  for  the  First  District  of 
New  York,  who  has  given  this  question  much  study,  has  reached 
the  conclusion  that  where  a  city  is  approximately  semicircular 
in  shape  or  can  be  reduced  to  a  semicircular  equivalent  about 

1  "  Provision  for  Future  Rapid  Transit,"  by  John  Vipond  Davies,  Proceed- 
ings of  Sixth  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  Toronto,  1914. 


The  Transportation  System  85 

one  mile  of  double-track  railroad  is  required  for  every  200  acres 
and  that  the  number  of  different  routes  required  for  any  city 
can  be  roughly  determined  by  dividing  the.  square  root  of  the 
area  of  the  city  in  acres  by  6.3,  a  route  being  a  continuous  line 
from  the  business  center  to  the  outer  limits  of  the  city  or  a  cross- 
town  line  from  one  side  of  the  town  to  the  other.  He  assumes 
that  passengers  should  not  be  required  to  walk  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  reach  a  street  railway  which  will  carry 
them  to  the  business  center  and  that  cross-town  lines  should 
not  be  more  than  a  mile  apart.  Mr.  Turner's  discussion  of  this 
subject  is  well  worth  the  careful  study  of  those  who  are  respon- 
.sible  for  working  out  the  plans  for  an  urban  district,  in  order 
that  streets  of  adequate  width  may  be  provided  to  meet  prob- 
able traffic  requirements. 

TABLE   III 

Showing  the  Estimated  Cost  or  Double-track  Rapid-transit  Railroads 
OF  Various  Types  and  under  Different  Coi'rt)iTioNS,  Reduced  to  Cost 
per  Mile  of  Single  Track. 

Cost  per 
Type  of  Structure.  Mile  of 

Single  Track. 

Overhead  trolley  railroad  on  public  roads  or  private  rights  of  way, 

where  no  pavement  is  required $      25,000 

Overhead  trolley  railroad  in  city  streets  including  asphalt  or  granite 

pavement  between  tracks  and  two  ft.  outside 41,500 

Underground  trolley  railroad  in  congested  city  streets,  including  pave- 
ments, conduits  and  care  of  subsurface  structures  under  conditions 
such  as  those  in  Washington,  D.  C 48,500 

Same  construction  as  above  under  conditions  existing  in  New  York 

city 1 26,500 

Elevated  railroad,  steel  structure,  such  as  built  by  the  Public  Service 

Commission  in  New  York  city,  including  stations 113,000 

'   Railroad  in  open  cut,  excavation  by  steam  shovel,  concrete  walls,  in- 
cluding bridges  and  stations 225,000 

Railroad  on  masonry  viaduct,  stone  ballasted,  as  on  Queens  Boulevard, 

New  York  city,  including  stations 330,000 

Underground  railroad  near  surface,  excavation  by  steam  shovel,  little 

or  no  interference  with  subsurface  structures,  including  stations.  .        402,000 

Underground  railroad  in  streets  like  Broadway,  New  York,  extreme 
interference  with  subsurface  structures,  support  of  surface  tracks 
with  underground  trolley  construction,  including  stations 1,190,000 

Iron  tube  tunnels,  concrete  lined,  under  waterways  or  below  water 

level,  no  stations 2,700,000 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE   STREET   SYSTEM 

THERE  have  been  a  few  cases  where  important  cities  have 
been  planned  as  a  unit,  where  the  administrative  center, 
the  commercial,  industrial  and  residential  districts,  the  Unes  of 
traffic  and  their  terminals  have  been  laid  out  after  careful  study 
to  meet  conditions  which  could  confidently  be  expected  or  to 
a  large  degree  controlled.  Washington  is  probably  the  most 
notable  instance  of  such  city  planning.  A  site  was  selected  for 
the  national  capital  of  the  United  States  in  1791,  when  the 
country  consisted  of  a  group  of  fourteen  States  strung  out  along 
the  Atlantic  Coast,  one  State  having  been  added  to  the  original 
thirteen  during  that  year.  The  location  chosen  was  at  that 
time  fairly  central,  being  on  both  banks  of  the  Potomac  River,  and 
partly  in  each  of  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  While 
Washington  is  still  about  midway  between  the  northerly  and 
southerly  boundaries  of  the  country,  it  is  only  about  100  miles 
in  a  direct  line  from  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  more  than  2000  miles 
from  the  Pacific.  Were  the  capital  city  to  be  located  to-day 
and  given  a  fairly  central  position  with  regard  to  territory  and 
population,  it  would  probably  be  somewhere  along  the  Missis- 
sippi River.  The  plan  of  the  city,  however,  is  so  admirable, 
its  natural  surroundings  are  so  attractive,  and  it  has  become  so 
beautiful,  that  although  it  is  at  the  easterly  edge  of  a  country 
of  great  territorial  extent,  no  serious  suggestion  of  a  change  in 
location  has  been  made. 

Plans  have  lately  been  prepared  for  Canberra,  the  proposed 
continental  capital  city  for  Australia,  the  competition  for  the 
design  having  been  won  by  Mr.  Walter  B.  Griffin,  of  Chicago. 
In  this  case  also  a  site  was  selected  where  there  is  not  even  a 

86 


PLATE  14 


View  of  William  street,  New  York,  under  which  a  double-track  rapid 
transit  subway  is  being  built  which,  at  stations,  occupies  the  entire  width  of 
the  street  (p.  83). 


PLATE  15 


r' 


S^s>x/  111        // 

rt^ANUrACTURIN&!    ^  SCCTiOM— 


Plan  for  Canberra,  the  proposed  Capital  City  of  Australia.    The  accepted 
design  by  Mr.  Walter  B.  Griffin  of  Chicago.     See  Plate  i8  (p.  87). 


The  Street  System  87 


village  street  to  forai  a  beginning,  and  an  exceedingly  interest- 
ing plan  has  been  worked  out  which  appears  to  take  advantage 
of  the  natural  features  of  the  site.     (Pis.  15  and  18.) 

Industrial  cities,  such  as  Gary,  Indiana,  established  by  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation,  or  garden  cities,  such  as 
Letchworth,  have  occasionally  been  planned  and  built  on  entirely 
new  sites,  but  the  city  planner  usually  finds  that  the  beginning 
has  already  been  made,  a  beginning  which  may  prove  a  serious 
handicap  or  may,  though  less  frequently,  be  an  admirable 
nucleus  for  the  larger  plan.  While  in  planning  for  the  future 
growth  of  an  already  existing  city  there  is  a  natural  and  com- 
mendable desire  to  preserve  everything  that  is  old,  picturesque 
and  of  historic  interest,  to  do  so  will  frequently  result  in  obstruct- 
ing a  free  movement  of  the  business  and  traffic  of  the  city. 
Few  cities  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  had  as  their  starting 
point  a  New  England  village  green  of  generous  proportions 
with  a  few  wide  highways  radiating  from  it,  or  even  to  have 
had  the  beginning  of  a  town  plan  like  those  of  Buffalo  and 
Detroit.  Some  of  the  cities  of  Continental  Europe  are  built 
about  an  ancient  chateau  or  schloss,  the  home  of  a  prince  who, 
after  tiring  of  war,  has  devoted  his  energies  to  the  laying  out 
of  a  city  of  which  the  royal  residence  should  be  the  center,  and 
the  result  has  been  such  a  town  as  Karlsruhe,  or  Mannheim. 
In  the  former  of  these  cities  the  fine  radial  streets  were  probably 
laid  out  for  the  purpose  of  providing  dignified  vistas  of  the 
castle  or  government  buildings,  or  even  for  the  purpose  of 
defense  against  attack,  rather  than  to  facilitate  free  movement 
of  traffic,  but  they  have  admirably  performed  both  these  func- 
tions. Again,  the  city  may  have  been  built  about  or  under  the 
shadow  of  the  baronial  castle,  with  little  other  purpose  than  to 
be  near  it  and  under  its  protection,  as  in  the  case  of  Edinburgh 
or  Nuremberg.  Most  old  cities  have  simply  grown  with  very 
little  planning.  Comprehensive  plans,  where  such  have  been 
prepared,  are  of  comparatively  recent  date  and  have  had  to 
adapt  themselves  as  well  as  might  be  to  the  older  portions  of 
the  towns  as  they  were  and  make  designs  for  sections  not  yet 


88  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

developed  conform  with  the  haphazard  growth  which  had  already 
taken  place.  Plans  of  such  cities,  therefore,  commonly  consist 
of  a  number  of  separate  designs,  more  or  less  unrelated  to  each 
other,  abutting  upon  the  confused  and  uneconomic  system  of 
streets  in  the  old  town  which  in  most  cases  persisted  as  the 
actual  center.  In  some  instances  expansion  in  all  direc- 
tions was  possible,  as  in  London,  Paris,  Berlin  and  Brussels. 
In  others  the  ancient  town  was  so  located  that  expansion  was  in 
a  semicircular  form,  as  in  the  case  of  Antwerp,  or  the  growth 
was  confined  to  a  single  direction,  as  in  that  of  New  York. 
The  considerations  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  present  plan 
of  that  part  of  New  York  city  now  known  as  the  Borough  of 
Manhattan  are  outHned  in  the  report  which  was  filed  with 
that  plan  in  1811,  and  are  interesting  reading  at  this  time,  when 
the  needs  of  a  great  city  are  more  clearly  understood.  The 
necessity  of  a  more  comprehensive  plan  was  appreciated  when 
in  1807  a  commission  was  created  to  prepare  such  a  plan.  New 
York  then  had  a  population  of  about  85,600,  while  the  built-up 
part  of  the  city  extended  north  to  approximately  Houston 
street  on  the  east  side  and  Eighth  street  and  Greenwich  avenue 
on  the  west  side,  with  scattered  settlements  along  both  sides 
of  Manhattan  Island  up  to  the  Harlem  River. 

The  commission  was  authorized  to  prepare  a  plan  for  Man- 
hattan Island,  which  had  a  length  of  some  13!  miles  and  a 
maximum  width  of  about  2I  miles,  and  they  had  then  a  pro- 
phetic vision  of  a  great  city  which  would  occupy  this  strip  of 
land,  and  they  felt  that  it  was  "  no  unreasonable  conjecture 
that  in  half  a  century  it  would  be  closely  built  up  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Parade  and  contain  400,000  souls,"  a  prediction 
which  was  more  than  verified,  as  in  i860  the  population  was 
more  than  double  this  estimate,  having  reached  805,658.  The 
"Parade"  referred  to  extended  approximately  from  Twenty- 
third  to  Thirty-fourth  streets  and  from  Third  to  Seventh  ave- 
nues, and  was  "  set  apart  for  military  exercise,  as  also  to  assemble 
in  case  of  need  a  force  destined  to  defend  the  city." 

One  of  the  first  questions  considered  by  the  commission 


The  Street  System  89 


was  "  whether  they  should  confine  themselves  to  rectilinear  and 
rectangular  streets,  or  whether  they  should  adopt  some  of  those 
supposed  improvements  by  circles,  ovals  and  stars,  which  cer- 
tainly embellish  a  plan,  whatever  may  be  their  effect  as  to 
convenience  and  utility."  The  conclusion  reached  by  them 
was  that  "  a  city  must  be  composed  principally  of  the  habita- 
tions of  men,  and  that  straight-sided  and  right-angled  houses 
are  the  most  cheap  to  build  and  the  most  convenient  to  live 
in.  The  effect  of  these  plain  and  simple  reflections  was  decisive. ' ' 
Having  decided  upon  a  rectangular,  or  gridiron,  plan  as  the 
most  desirable,  they  appeared  to  conclude  that,  as  the  traffic  of 
the  city  would  be  principally  across  the  island,  or  from  river  to 
river,  the  greatest  number  of  streets  or  the  greatest  traffic 
capacity  should  be  in  this  direction,  and  a  series  of  streets 
60  ft.  in  width,  with  intervening  blocks  200  ft.  wide,  was  laid 
out  in  this  direction,  although,  realizing  that  some  of  these  cross 
streets  would  be  called  upon  to  accommodate  a  concentrated 
traffic,  fifteen  of  them,  or  approximately  every  tenth  street, 
were  given  a  width  of  100  ft.  At  right  angles  to  these  streets 
and  running  in  straight  lines  along  the  length  of  the,  island  a 
series  of  avenues  was  laid  out  with  a  width  of  100  ft.  each  and 
separated  by  blocks  ranging  from  650  to  920  ft.  in  length.  The 
assumption  that  the  principal  traffic  would  be  from  river  to 
river  may  have  been  a  natural  one  when  this  plan  was  made, 
but  it  is  found  to  have  been  a  serious  and  costly  blunder.  Yet 
this  plan  has  admirers  who  point  to  the  dignity  and  character 
of  the  long  straight  avenues  of  Manhattan  Island.  Mr.  Simeon 
Strunsky,  in  paying  his  tribute  of  admiration  to  Fifth  avenue 
and  incidentally  to  the  general  street  plan  of  this  part  of  New 
York,  says: 

"  I  know  that  this  will  seem  very  crude  to  the  aesthetic  snobs  who  are 
always  deploring  the  checker-board  plan  of  Manhattan  Island,  with 
avenues  that  run  up  and  down  and  streets  that  sprint  from  river  to  river. 
They  call  the  pattern  monotonous  because  they  see  it  only  on  the  map.  .  .  . 
Criticism  of  our  gridiron  city  is  only  a  way  people  have  of  echoing  the 
English,  who  like  to  have  their  streets  like  their  education  bills  and  franchise 


90  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

laws — never  going  straight  at  anything,  but  full  of  kinks  and  knots  and 
cul  de  sacs.  .  .  .  What  I  meant  to  say  was  that  the  city  fathers,  when 
they  endowed  us  with  our  geometrical  streets  and  avenues,  were  wiser  than 
their  modern  critics,  because  they  built  according  to  their  material  and 
their  needs.  They  had  on  their  hands  an  island  constructed  by  the  original 
Architect  something  on  the  model  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  They  accordingly 
fitted  the  island  with  a  suit  of  democratic  clothes,  built  for  use  and  comfort 
instead  of  cluttering  it  up  with  periwig  circles  and  diagonal  avenue  sashes 
and  frilled  terraces.  They  recognized  that  the  shortest  way  from  the  tip 
to  the  root  of  this  tongue  of  land  we  call  Manhattan  was  by  straight  Hnes. 
So  they  acted  not  only  in  conformity  with  the  material  at  hand,  but  with 
the  national  spirit,  which  cuts  straight  across  things.  And  because  they 
were  faithful  to  their  material  and  their  native  spirit  they  were  better  artists 
than  the  man  who  would  have  us  tack  from  Park  Row  to  Harlem  because 
that's  the  way  it's  done  in  London  and  Florence."  ^ 

These  may  have  been  some  of  the  considerations  that  induced 
the  commission  of  1807  to  work  out  their  plan  as  they  did. 
The  reference  to  those  "  who  would  have  us  tack  from  Park 
Row  to  Harlem  "  is  scarcely  a  happy  one,  as  that  is  precisely 
what  we  have  to  do  now  between  these  and  other  points  unless 
both  our  start  and  finish  happen  to  be  on  or  near  one  of  the 
main  avenues.  The  recent  growth  of  New  York  has  far  exceeded 
the  wildest  dreams  of  those  who  made  its  first  plan,  and  instead 
of  being  chiefly  confined  to  Manhattan  Island,  it  has  extended 
over  Long  Island,  the  portion  of  which  now  within  the  limits 
of  the  Greater  City  had  on  July  i,  19 14,  a  population  of  2,173,582, 
as  estimated  by  the  Federal  Census  Bureau.  The  East  River, 
which  doubtless  seemed  to  the  early  city  planners  an  insuper- 
able barrier  to  the  further  extension  of  the  city  in  that  direction, 
has  been  practically  ehminated  by  the  construction  of  four  great 
bridges  over  it  and  eight  railway  tracks  in  tunnel  beneath  it, 
while  another  great  railway  bridge  and  four  more  tunnels  are 
under  contract,  and  two  other  tunnels  are  contemplated.  Six 
tracks  have  also  been  carried  under  the  Hudson  River  to  the 
adjoining  State  of  New  Jersey. 

While  the  expansion  to  the  east  and  west  may  appear  to 
have  justified  the  early  behef  that  the  principal  traffic  would 
^Harper's  Magazine,  September,  1915. 


The  Street  System  91 


be  across  Manhattan  Island,  the  growth  northwardly  has  been 
equally  great,  and  the  few  avenues  are  so  overtaxed  that,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  transit  lines  have  been  built  over 
four  of  them  on  elevated  structures  and  under  some  of  them 
in  tunnel,  the  need  of  additional  thoroughfares  in  this  direction 
is  quite  apparent,  and  the  almost  entire  absence  of  diagonal  or 
radial  highways  prevents  direct  access  from  one  side  to  the 
other  side  at  points  above  or  below.     (See  Fig.  lo.) 

The  plan  submitted  in  1811  extended  as  far  north  as  155th 
street,  the  area  above  that  street  not  having  been  included, 
and  in  commenting  upon  this  fact  the  commission  said:  "  To 
some  it  may  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  whole  island  has 
not  been  laid  out  as  a  city.  To  others  it  may  be  a  subject  of 
merriment  that  the  commissioners  have  provided  space  for  a 
greater  population  than  is  collected  on  any  spot  this  side  of 
China.  They  have  in  this  respect  been  governed  by  the  shape 
of  the  ground.  It  is  not  improbable  that  considerable  num- 
bers may  be  collected  at  Haerlem  before  the  high  hills  to  the 
southwestward  of  it  shall  be  built  upon  as  a  city,  and  it  is 
improbable  that  for  centuries  to  come  the  grounds  north  of 
Haerlem  Flat  will  be  covered  with  houses.  To  have  come 
short  of  the  extent  laid  out  might,  therefore,  have  defeated 
just  expectations,  and  to  have  gone  further  might  have  fur- 
nished material  to  the  pernicious  spirit  of  speculation." 

The  plan  of  New  York  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  lack 
of  appreciation — on  the  part  even  of  men  of  high  intelligence 
and  ability,  as  were  the  members  of  the  commission  whose  report 
has  been  quoted  from — of  the  great  value  of  a  system  of  radial 
or  diagonal  streets  affording  easy  and  direct  connections  between 
different  parts  of  the  city.  The  I'Enfant  plan  for  Washington 
had  been  made  some  years  before  this  commission  undertook 
its  work,  but  they  probably  deemed  that  more  or  less  fanciful, 
or  at  least  as  better  adapted  to  the  great  national  capital  than 
to  a  commercial  city  such  as  New  York.  Yet  about  a  century 
and  a  half  earher,  after  the  great  fire  of  London  in  1666,  both 
Sir  Christopher  Wren  and  Sir  John  Evelyn  made  what  are  said 


92 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


to  have  been  simultaneous  and  entirely  independent  suggestions 
for  the  replanning  of  the  streets  of  the  burned  district.     These 


»;.,  _^^<i--- 


jj  J  r  i;  i? 


THAME    S 


Fig.  14. — Plan  proposed  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  cen- 
tral part  of  London  after  the  Great  Fire  of  1666. 

plans,  the  chief  features  of  which  are  shown  in  Figs.  14  and  15, 
afford  a  striking  example  of  the  agreement  of  those  who  have 


Fig.  15. — Plan  proposed  by  Sir  John  Evelyn  for  the  rebuilding  of  part  of  London. 


given  careful  study  to  the  subject  upon  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples which  should  govern  the  planning  of  even  the  intensively 


The  Street  System  93 


developed  portions  of  a  great  city.     In  these  two  plans  we  are 
at  once  struck  with  the  identical  arrangement  of  the  focal  point 
where  the  Strand  becomes  Fleet  street,  from  which  eight  main 
arteries  radiate,  one  leading  directly  up  to  Wren's  great  cathe- 
dral, another  to  the  financial  center  at  the  Bank  of  England, 
the  Royal  Exchange  and  the  Mansion  House,  and  another  to 
the  north  end  of  London  Bridge.     Evelyn's  plan  continued  the 
first  of  these  proposed  arteries  eastwardly  beyond  Saint  Paul's, 
affording  an  admirable  view  of  this  great  structure  and  its 
splendid  dome  from  the  east  as  well  as  from  the  west.     Again, 
at  the  north  end  of  London  Bridge,  we  see  in  both  plans  almost 
exactly  the  same  arrangement  of  radiating  streets  and  closely 
similar  systems  having  their  center  at  the  bank.     Although  the 
suggestions  were  not  carried  out,   the   sanitary  condition  of 
this  part  of  London  appears  to  have  been  greatly  improved 
after  the  rebuilding,  as  is  indicated  by  a  letter  written  by 
Professor  John  Woodward  to  Sir  Christopher  Wren  some  years 
after  the  fire,  which  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Elmes  in  his  biography 
of  Wren,  and  in  which  Professor  Woodward  says:     "  However 
disastrous  it  might  have  been  to  the  then  inhabitants,  it  proved 
infinitely  beneficial  to  their  posterity.  ...  By  the  means  of 
the  common  sewers  and  other  like  contrivances  such  provision 
was  made  for  sweetness,  cleanness  and  salubrity  that  it  is  not 
only  the  finest  and  pleasantest,  but  the  most  healthy  city  in 
the  world."  ^     Wren  presented  his  plan  for  the  rebuilding  of 
London  to  the  King  and  Council,  and  Mr.  Elmes  says  that  the 
Royal  Society  took  umbrage  at  this,  claiming  that  the  plan 
should  have  "  been  previously  submitted  to  them  for  review 
and  approbation  so  as  to  have  given  the  society  a  name." 
When  the  matter  came  before  Parliament  three  policies  were 
urged  by  different  groups.     "  One  was  for  an  entire  new  ar- 
rangement as  proposed  by  Wren,  another  for  rebuilding  it  as 
before,  but  with  brick,  and  the  other  for  a  combination  of  the 
two  by  building  a  quay  along  the  river,  widening  some  of  the 

^ "  Sir  Christopher  Wren  and  His  Times,"  by  James  Elmes,  London,  1852, 
page  233. 


94  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

streets  and  rebuilding  others,  on  the  old  foundations  and  vaults, 
with  brick."  The  manner  in  which  Wren  undertook  his  task 
and  the  controlling  considerations  which  guided  him  in  the 
preparation  of  the  plan  are  given  by  Mr.  Elmes  as  follows: 
"  In  order,  therefore,  to  a  proper  reformation  Dr.  Wren  pur- 
suant to  the  Royal  Command  immediately  after  the  fire  took  an 
exact  survey  of  the  whole  area  and  confines  of  the  burning, 
having  traced  with  great  trouble  and  hazard  the  great  plain 
of  ashes  and  ruins,  and  designed  a  plan  or  model  of  a  new  city 
in  which  the  deformities  and  inconveniences  of  the  old  Town 
were  remedied  by  enlarging  the  streets  and  lands,  and  carrying 
them  as  near  parallel  to  one  another  as  might  be:  avoiding  if 
compatible  with  greater  conveniences,  all  .acute  angles,  by  seat- 
ing all  the  parochial  churches  conspicuous  and  insular,  by  form- 
ing the  most  pubUc  places  into  large  piazzas  the  centers  of  eight 
ways;  by  uniting  the  Halls  of  twelve  chief  Companies  into  one 
regular  space  annexed  to  the  Guildhall;  by  making  a  commo- 
dious Quay  on  the  whole  bank  of  the  river  from  Blackfriars  to 
the  Tower.  Moreover,  in  contriving  the  general  plan  the  fol- 
lowing particulars  were  chiefly  considered  and  proposed : 

"  The  streets  to  be  of  three  magnitudes;  the  three  principal 
leading  straight  through  the  city,  and  one  or  two  cross  streets 
to  be  at  least  90  ft.  wide;  others  60  ft.  and  lanes  about  30  ft., 
excluding  all  narrow,  dark  alleys  without  thoroughfares  and 
courts.  The  Exchange  to  stand  free  in  the  middle  of  a  piazza 
and  be  as  it  were  the  nave  or  center  of  the  town,  from  whence 
the  60  ft.  streets  as  so  many  ways  should  proceed  to  all  principal 
parts  of  the  city;  the  building  to  be  contrived  after  the  form  of 
the  Roman  Forum  with  double  porticoes.  Many  streets  also 
to  radiate  upon  the  bridge.  The  streets  of  the  first  and  second 
magnitude  to  be  carried  on  as  straight  as  possible  and  to  center  in 
four  or  five  piazzas." 

Special  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the  fundamental 
importance  of  such  an  arrangement  of  focal  points  and  direct 
connections  between  them,  and  the  fact  that  its  advantages 
were   fully  realized  by  at  least  two   capable  men  nearly  two 


The  Street  System  95 


and  a  half  centuries  ago,  although  the  public  authorities  failed 
to  grasp  their  importance  and  take  advantage  of  the  sug- 
gestions, while  more  strangely  still  this  lack  of  appreciation 
has  continued  to  be  quite  general  even  to  the  present  time,  and 
the  commission  which  prepared  the  plan  of  New  York  referred 
to  these  radial  and  circumferential  streets  as  "  supposed  improve- 
ments," and  dismissed  them  for  the  very  practical  but  short- 


\    ^  -^^^ 

^^^P^ 

&7L 

r  — ' — ^^r/,^^'^ ' 

7    ^\  \  \      r^r^"^^ 

1  ^//yVx       V        / 

W' 

Fig.  1 6. — Plan  showing  the  principal  traffic  streets  of  Paris.  What  might  be 
called  the  major  axis  of  the  city  and  the  inner  system  of  boulevards  are 
indicated  by  the  heavy  lines. 

sighted  reason  that  "  straight-sided  and  right-angle  houses  are 
the  most  cheap  to  build  and  the  most  convenient  to  live  in." 

In  the  replanning  and  reconstruction  of  Paris  under  Hauss- 
mann,  this  insistence  upon  some  great  focal  points,  with  a  system 
of  thoroughfares  radiating  from  them,  the  foci  being  connected 
by  direct  Hues  of  special  emphasis,  and  a  system  of  circumfer- 
ential streets,  is  seen  to  be  the  dominant  feature.  (Fig.  i6.) 
In  many  Continental  cities  a  study  of  the  ground  plan  will  show 
this  same  arrangement,  in  some  cases  symmetrical  and  clearly 


96 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


defined,  in  others  somewhat  less  obvious.  It  is  especially  ap- 
parent in  Cologne  (Fig.  17),  in  Moscow  and  in  Vienna.  The 
advantages  are  now  quite  generally  appreciated,  and  the  cities 
possessing  these  ring  streets  and  radials  have  often  been  credited 
with  more  wise  foresight  than  they  have  actually  shown. 

For  generations,  and  even  for  centuries,  the  older  parts 
have  been  hemmed  in  by  fortifications  which  were  deemed 
essential  to  their  safety.     Within  the  walls  there  was  a  maze  of 


Fig.  17. — Plan  showing  the  general  street  system  of  the  central  part  of  Cologne. 
Both  radial  and  circumferential  streets  are  well  defined. 

narrow  and  frequently  squaHd  streets.  Congestion  was  extreme 
and  the  sanitary  conditions  were  deplorable.  A  few  high- 
ways led  out  of  the  cities  through  the  walls  and  into  the  open 
country  beyond,  but  these  were  not  designed  as  arteries  of 
traffic  required  by  and  contributing  to  peaceful  commerce; 
they  were  rather  routes  of  advance  against  or  retreat  before 
attacking  forces,  or  were  designed  to  facihtate  predatory  raids 
into  the  surrounding  country.  It  was  fortunate  that  when  peace, 
rather  than  war,  became  a  normal  condition,  and  when  the 
city  walls  could  safely  be  demolished  and  the  moats  filled  up, 


The  Street  System  97 


the  possibility  of  converting  the  spaces  occupied  by  them  into 
great  ring  streets  or  boulevards  and  their  peculiar  availability 
for  this  purpose  became  apparent.  Here,  then,  was  an  area  of 
publicly  owned  land,  more  than  enough  to  provide  a  great 
encircling  boulevard  of  generous  width,  with  sites  for  impor- 
tant buildings  which  could  advantageously  be  located  along 
such  a  thoroughfare,  with  room  even  for  open  spaces  and 
public  gardens,  and  in  addition,  perhaps,  land  which  could 
be  sold  at  greatly  enhanced  value  for  sums  which  would  go  a 
long  way  toward  meeting  the  cost  of  the  physical  improve- 
ment and  of  the  public  buildings.  Such  was  the  experience  of 
Vienna,  which  glories  in  one  of  the  finest,  if  not  the  very  finest, 
ring  street  in  the  world,  a  street  which  Mr.  Charles  Mulford 
Robinson  describes  as  "an  enormous  circular  stage  devised  for 
the  spectacularly  scenic  entrance  and  exit  of  the  Viennese  throng." 
In  the  eighteenth  century  Vienna  was  a  typical  fortified  town 
with  walls,  bastions,  sallyports  and  moats.  Behind  these  walls 
was  a  maze  of  narrow,  crooked  streets,  with  churches  and  market 
places  occupying  the  only  open  spaces.  Not  until  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century  did  Vienna  feel  that  it  could  dispense 
with  its  encircling  fortifications,  and  an  ambitious  plan  was 
evolved  for  the  use  of  the  space  occupied  by  them.  There  were 
delays  owing  to  a  dispute  between  the  imperial  government, 
the  state  and  the  city  as  to  the  title  to  the  land,  but  this  was 
finally  adjusted  in  1857  and  Vienna  built  its  superb  Ringstrasse, 
set  aside  sites  for  government  and  municipal  buildings,  museums 
of  painting  and  sculpture,  university  and  cathedral,  and  even  then 
had  a  considerable  area  left  for  private  development.  Dr.  Shaw 
says  that  about  $80,000,000  was  received  through  the  sale 
of  the  surplus  land.  ^  There  was  also  an  outer  hne  of  fortifica- 
tions which  are  being  similarly  availed  of  for  the  creation 
of  an  outer  ring,  which,  like  the  inner,  will  extend  from  the 
Danube  to  the  Danube.  While  this  may  not  be  considered 
far-sighted  city  planning,  it  affords  an  instance  of  the  intelligent 
appreciation  of  an  unusual  opportunity  which  was  promptly 

'  "  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe,"  by  i\lbert  Shaw,  page  422. 


98  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  admirably  availed  of.  It  is  unfair,  however,  to  credit 
some  of  the  ancient  European  cities  with  a  capacity  for  planning 
these  splendid  streets,  which  are  conspicuously  lacking  in  most 
towns.  Moscow  has  them,  probably  secured  in  somewhat  the 
same  manner  as  Vienna  secured  hers;  Cologne  has  replaced  her 
ancient  walls  by  a  ring  street,  but  Berlin  has  failed  to  take 
advantage  of  a  similar  opportunity.  Such  streets  have  from 
time  to  time  been  planned  for  American  cities,  but  most  of  the 
plans  have  thus  far  failed  of  reahzation.  The  old  walls  of 
Paris  are  still  available  as  a  site  for  an  encircHng  boulevard, 
and  although  this  city  now  has  a  very  complete  inner  and  outer 
ring  entirely  surrounding  the  older  parts  of  the  city,  a  third 
boulevard  is  to  be  constructed  along  the  old  walls.  But  few 
towns  have  old  walls  which  they  can  convert  into  ring  streets, 
yet  the  advantages  of  such  streets  are  so  obvious  that  they  are 
being  planned  by  many  of  the  great  cities,  some  of  them  at 
enormous  cost  for  land  and  buildings,  which  must  be  destroyed, 
with  entire  disarrangement  of  the  connecting  streets.  Chicago 
has  planned  such  a  great  boulevard  on  a  most  ambitious  scale, 
the  cost  of  which  will  involve  many  milHons  of  dollars,  and  which 
has  been  more  particularly  referred  to  in  Chapter  II.  Liverpool 
has  in  a  less  spectacular  fashion,  but  in  a  far-sighted  way,  gone 
about  the  creation  of  such  a  street,  which  will  permit  trafi&c  not 
destined  for  the  central  part  of  the  town  to  pass  entirely  around 
it  and  avoid  the  most  congested  areas.  The  plans  for  this  in- 
valuable thoroughfare  have  been  worked  out  by  City  Engineer 
Brodie,  and  one  section  after  another  has  been  acquired  and 
constructed  until  Liverpool  found  itself  in  possession  of  this 
improvement  almost  before  the  general  pubHc  was  aware  that  it 
was  in  progress.  Brussels  has  laid  out  and  is  gradually  im- 
proving a  similar  great  boulevard,  the  easterly  portion  of  which, 
traversing  the  most  highly  improved  part  of  the  city,  is  one  of 
the  finest  streets  in  Europe.  American  cities  are  making  plans 
for  such  thoroughfares  either  by  laying  them  out  across  the 
existing  street  systems  or  by  coupling  up  fragments,  widening 
here  and  extending  there,  to  create  the  desired  ring. 


The  Street  System 


99 


In  the  United  Stattes  the  gridiron  plan  has  been  tenaciously- 
adhered  to,  though  efiforts  have  been  made  to  break  away  from 
it.  Rochester,  New  York,  for  instance,  has  provided  quite  a 
fair  system  of  direct  thoroughfares  connecting  different  parts  of 
the  city.  (Fig.  i8.)  After  a  destructive  fire  in  Detroit,  in 
1805,  a  plan  was  prepared  for  the  city  which  shows  the  influ- 


FiG.  18. — Showing  the  principal  through  tratfic  streets  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

ence  of  the  Washington  plan  (Fig.  19),  but  the  present  street 
system  of  the  city,  the  general  features  of  which  are  indicated 
by  Fig.  20,  shows  that  it  was  not  followed. 

In  every  city  there  are  large  areas,  not  yet  developed  and 
not  even  planned,  where  opportunities  are  presented  to  design 
a  street  system,  the  different  parts  of  which  will  be  properly 
related  to  each  other  and  to  such  modification  of  the  system  of 
the  existing  town  as  may  ultimately  be  carried  into  effect.     Too 


100 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


often  these  undeveloped  sections  are  planned  as  if  they  were  so 
many  different  urban  areas  unrelated  to  each  other  or  to  the 
original  city,  and  too  often  the  obvious  blunders  of  the  older 
sections  are  repeated  in  the  new  additions.    Too  often,  also, 


Fig.  iq. — Plan  proposed  in  1807  for  the  City  of  Detroit,  which  had  suffered  from 
a  destructive  fire  two  years  before.  Reproduced  from  "  The  Building 
of  Detroit,"  by  C.  M.  Burton. 

small  fragments  of  these  areas  are  laid  out  by  owners  or  by  land 
speculators  who  have  acquired  adjacent  holdings  and  whose 
only  aim  is  to  divide  them  into  as  many  building  lots  as  possible 
and  dispose  of  them  promptly,  leaving  the  new  owners  to  suffer 
the  annoyance  and  loss  incident  to  a  later  readjustment  of 


The  Street  System 


101 


street  lines.  Municipal  authorities,  especially  in  America, 
have  been  strangely  indifferent  to  this  practice,  while  their 
excuse  often  is  that  they  have  not  the  authority  to  control  such 
operations,  and  this  is  frequently  the  case,  the  laws  being 
framed  to  protect  the  land  owner  in  his  so-called  right  to  do 
what  he  pleases  with  his  property,  rather  than  to  protect  the 
public,  which  is  the  city,  against  the  unwise  exercise  of  such  right. 


Fig.  20. — Plan  showing  the  principal  through  traffic  streets  of  Detroit. 

While  a  city  cannot  often  be  planned  from  the  beginning,  there 
are  certain  general  principles  which  should  be  regarded  in  the 
laying  out  of  the  street  system  of  a  portion  of  a  town,  as  well 
as  that  of  a  complete  city.  These  considerations  were  outhned 
in  a  paper  presented  by  Mr.  Raymond  Unwin  at  the  London 
Town  Planning  Conference  in  19 10  in  the  following  words: 

Having  settled  the  purpose  of  the  different  areas,  determined  the 
general  character  of  growth  and  the  approximate  direction  desirable  for 
main  and  subsidiary  highways,  the  town  planner  finds  himself  with  the 
following  component  parts  out  of  which  to  make  his  design,  namely: 


102  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  main  center-point,  or  climax,  dominating  the  whole;  the  second- 
ary centers  in  definite  proportion  and  relation  to  it ;  and  the  main  highways 
linking  them  up;  the  whole  giving  the  bones  or  main  framework  of  the 
design. 

Within  the  space  defined  by  this  framework,  having  special  relation 
to  the  secondary  centers  and  proportion  to  the  primary  highways,  we  have 
the  network  of  secondary  highways;  while  within  the  areas  which  these 
leave,  for  the  purpose  almost  solely  of  giving  access  to  the  buildings,  we 
have  the  minor  roadways  or  drives,  which  should  be  in  relation  to  any 
subsidiary  center-point,  and  both  in  relation  and  proportion  to  the  frame- 
work of  secondary  highways.  .  .  .  No  system  cuts  up  the  land  into  more 
awkward  corners  or  more  thoroughly  destroys  the  street  facades,  than  that 
which  consists  of  a  framework  of  diagonal  highways  laid  upon  a  rigid  grid- 
iron system  of  minor  roads,  and  from  no  system  do  such  unsatisfactory  road 
junctions  result.  In  town  planning  it  is  essential  to  avoid  being  carried 
away  by  the  mere  pattern  of  lines  on  paper.  Order,  definiteness  of  design 
there  must  be,  but  there  must  first  be  grasped  an  understanding  of  the  points 
where  order  is  important  and  will  tell,  and  of  those  where  it  matters  little. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  the  result  of  superimposing  a 
system  of  diagonal  highways  upon  a  gridiron  plan  of  minor 
streets  is  presented  in  Washington.  Large  areas  are  left  at  the 
street  intersections.  Irregular  plots  are  formed  which  would 
be  the  despair  of  the  real  estate  developer  or  of  a  town  which 
is  obliged  to  finance  its  street  improvements  in  the  ordinary 
way.  Washington,  however,  is  the  national  capital  of  a  rich 
republic  and  has  behind  it  what  is  even  better  than  an  imperial 
treasury,  namely,  the  generous  pride  of  a  people  and  a  legis- 
lature, the  members  of  which,  while  representing  different  States 
and  local  constituencies,  delight  in  seeing  their  capital  city 
become  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  Washington 
was  planned  on  a  large  scale,  the  pubUc  buildings  have  great 
open  spaces  about  them,  the  streets  are  very  wide  and  are  well 
planted  with  trees.  The  circles,  squares  and  other  open  spaces 
at  the  intersections  of  streets  and  avenues  are  used  as  sites  for 
monuments,  statues  and  fountains,  so  that  these  generous  open 
spaces  are  in  scale  with  the  rest  of  the  city.  But  Washington 
is  an  exception  which  proves  the  soundness  of  the  general  rule 
enunciated  by  Mr.  Unwin.     Such  a  plan  would  be  so  extrava- 


The  Street  System  103 


gant  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  city,  and  is  only 
possible  in  the  case  of  one  like  the  American  capital,  where  the 
entire  urban  life  is  closely  related  to  the  government  and  where 
manufacturing  and  commerce,  other  than  that  incidental  to 
the  accommodation  of  more  than  350,000  people,  are  almost 
unknown. 

In  nearly  all  cases  where  a  street  plan  is  to  be  devised, 
whether  it  be  for  a  large  area  which  can  be  treated  almost  as 
an  entire  city  in  itself,  or  for  a  smaller  tract  contiguous  to  the 
built-up  portion  of  an  important  city,  two  controlling  con- 
ditions must  first  be  taken  into  account — the  topography  and 
the  existing  roads.  An  accurate  topographic  survey  of  the  entire 
territory  will  be  of  great  value,  but  the  first  step  should  be  a 
determination  of  the  lines  of  main  drainage  and  the  selection 
of  routes  for  main  arteries  of  travel  which  will  give  favorable 
grades,  and  only  the  principal  topographical  features  need  be 
shown.  This  should  not  be  understood  as  indicating  a  lack  of 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  a  thoroughly  good  topographical 
map.  The  information  obtained  should  be  accurate  so  far  as 
it  goes,  but  it  is  unwise  to  go  too  far  at  this  time.  More 
complete  topography  will  be  needed  when  the  minor  details 
of  the  plan  are  worked  out,  but  the  time  and  expense  of  securing 
it  can  well  be  deferred  for  the  present.  Many  street  plans 
have  been  made  which  are  very  attractive  on  paper  but  which 
are  found  to  be  entirely  impracticable  when  transferred  to  the 
ground.  Had  a  sufficient  topographic  survey  first  been  made, 
such  impossible  plans  would  not  have  been  proposed.  The  next 
essential  is  an  accurate  plan  of  the  existing  roads,  showing  their 
widths  and  the  buildings  fronting  upon  them.  These  roads 
will  be  of  two  kinds — the  old  highways  which  serve  to  connect 
villages  or  centers  of  population,  some  within  and  others  without 
the  area  to  be  platted,  and  roads  or  streets  which  may  have  been 
laid  out  as  parts  of  real  estate  developments  and  according  to 
which  property  may  have  been  sold,  but  along  the  lines  of  which 
there  has  been  little  or  no  building.  The  former  class  of  roads 
have  an  excuse  for  their  existence  and  they  serve  a  useful  pur- 


104 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


pose.  They  lead  where  people  want  to  go  and  are  Hkely  to  be 
fairly  direct.  Their  alignment  may  be  somewhat  faulty,  their 
grades  may  be  excessive  in  some  places,  and  their  widths  will 
be  inadequate  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  will  naturally  become 
the  main  Unes  of  traffic  for  the  urban  district  which  will  include 
them.  With  such  straightening  and  widening  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary  and  such  changes  in  Hne  as  will  reduce  excessive  grades, 
those  old  roads  will  be  the  logical  basis  of  the  street  plan  which 
is  to  be  prepared.  (Fig.  21.)  When  they  have  been  platted 
it  will  be  obvious  that  additional  roads  will  be  needed,  some  to 


Fig.  21. — Showing  how  a  narrow  and  crooked  road  can  be  included  within  the 
lines  of  a  street  of  moderate  width  without  leaving  strips  covered  by  public 
easements  between  the  street  lines  and  the  abutting  property. 

estabHsh  cross  connections,  others  to  give  greater  directness  to 
the  roads  traversing  the  entire  territory,  others  as  by-passes 
around  groups  of  buildings  so  located  as  to  render  the  widening 
of  some  portions  of  the  old  roads  unduly  expensive,  and  still 
others  to  furnish  hues  of  main  drainage  along  the  valleys  through 
which  the  lateral  sewers  and  subsidiary  trunks  must  ultimately 
find  their  outlets.  This  system  will  be  "  the  bones  or  main 
framework  of  the  design  "  referred  to  by  Mr.  Unwin.  There 
will  probably  be  no  main  center  or  cHmax  and  no  secondary 
centers  to  be  connected  at  this  time.  If  they  already  existed 
there  would  also  be  a  system  of  streets  which  would  have  to  be 


The  Street  System  105 


reckoned  with  and  which  would  make  the  problem  one  of  replan- 
ning,  and  such  problems  of  replanning  are  those  to  which  most 
writers  on  this  subject  are  inclined  to  confine  themselves.  A 
careful  examination  of  existing  roads  either  in  outlying  dis- 
tricts or  in  the  central  parts  of  a  city  will  frequently  show  how 
readily  a  system  of  radial  and  circumferential  highways  can  be 
created  by  filling  in  a  few  gaps  and  cutting  through  new  streets 


^ 

W\ 

r^ss, 

fC^    ] 

4X 

Fig.  22. — Showing  existing  radial  thoroughfares  of  Boston.  This  and  Fig.  23 
are  reproduced  from  the  Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Improvement  Com- 
mission, 1909. 

for  short  distances.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  diagrams  included 
in  the  report  of  the  MetropoHtan  Improvement  Commission  of 
Boston  on  public  improvements  for  the  metropolitan  district 
which  was  pubUshed  in  1909,  and,  while  these  diagrams  have 
frequently  been  reproduced,  they  so  aptly  illustrate  the  point 
that  they  have  been  inserted  as  Figs.  22  and  23. 

We  are  considering  now  the  planning  of  undeveloped  terri- 
tory in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  replanning  unnecessary. 
While  no  one  can  predict  with  any  certainty  the  precise  manner 


106  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


in  which  any  city  will  grow,  the  purpose  of  the  preliminary  and 
initial  design  which  has  been  outlined  is  to  estabhsh  lines  of 
least  resistance  which  future  development  will  be  quite  likely 
to  follow.  Thus  far  we  have  considered  only  the  roads  which 
will  probably  become  the  main  arteries  of  trafl&c  and  that  will 
lead  with  reasonable  directness  where  people  will  wish  to  go. 
These  roads  may  divide  the  territory  into  a  series  of  irregular 
figures  having  three,  four  or  more  sides,  which  sides  may  be  a 


Fig.  23.— Showing  the  fragments  of  circumferential  thoroughfares  of  Boston. 

quarter  or  a  half  a  mile,  or  even  more,  in  length.  These  areas 
must  be  subdivided  by  secondary  roads,  in  the  location  of  which 
regard  should  be  paid  wherever  possible  to  property  subdivisions, 
to  the  possibiUty  of  some  of  them  developing  into  main  traffic 
roads  and  to  the  avoidance  of  awkward  junctions  with  the  main 
roads  already  laid  down,  which  would  result  in  confusion  of 
traffic  (Fig.  24).  It  is  difficult  to  say  how  wide  the  primary 
and  secondary  roads  should  be  made.  The  Royal  Commission 
on  London  Traffic  in  its  report,  made  some  years  ago,  after 
an  exhaustive  study,  suggested  the  following  widths  for  princi- 


The  Street  System 


107 


pal  streets:  main  avenues  140  ft.,  first-class  arterial  streets  100 
ft.,  second-class  arterial  streets  80  ft.,  third-class  streets  60  ft., 
fourth-class  streets  40  to  60  ft.  This  scale  of  widths  may  be 
somewhat  over-generous  and  might  involve  unnecessarily  great 
cost,  but  that  such  a  commission  should  have  proposed  them 
shows  that  its  members  were  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
handicap  under  which  London  has  suffered  by  reason  of  its 


Fig.  24. — Typical  plan  showing  the  development  of  an  arterial  street  system, 
making  use  of  existing  roads  with  additional  connections,  and  the 
acquisition  of  acreage  property  for  small  parks,  sites  for  public  buildings, 
etc. 

inadequate  highways.  As  early  as  1875  ^  Prussian  laWrelating 
to  the  streets  of  Berlin  provided  that  the  main  streets  should 
be  95  ft.  or  more  in  width,  secondary  thoroughfares  from  65  to 
95  ft.,  and  local  streets  from  40  to  65  ft.  Another  standard 
was  set  for  secondary  German  cities,  which  prescribed  85  to  120 
ft.  as  the  width  of  main  thoroughfares,  50  to  80  ft.  for  secondary 
thoroughfares,  and  35  to  48  ft.  for  local  streets.  •  In  laying  out 
the  secondary  roads,  as  in  the  case  of  main  highways,  considera- 

*"  Modem  City  Planning  and  Maintenance,"  by  Frank  Koester,  page  58. 


108  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

tion  should  be  paid  to  the  topography  although,  perhaps,  to  a 
somewhat  less  degree,  grades  and  directness  being  of  less  impor- 
tance, although  provision  for  surface  drainage  and  sewers  should 
always  be  borne  in  mind.  Lastly  will  come  the  minor  streets, 
which  will  serve  almost  entirely  for  access  to  dwelUngs.  As 
all  of  these  streets  will  connect  directly  with  either  the  secondary 
or  main  highways,  their  alignment  and  grades  are  of  Uttle  impor- 
tance, as  they  will  be  used  almost  exclusively  by  private  vehicles 
or  those  delivering  suppHes  to  the  abutting  houses.  The  chief 
concern  is  that  they  should  be  so  laid  out  as  to  furnish  ample 
Hght  and  air  and  discourage,  if  not  prevent,  a  too  intensive 
development,  with  rear  buildings  in  case  the  city  ordinances 
do  not  prohibit  this  menace  to  health  and  decent  Hving.  To 
plan  far  in  advance  the  precise  location  of  these  minor  streets 
is  not  necessary,  if  it  be  not  unwise.  Considerable  latitude 
can  well  be  allowed  the  individual  developer  in  their  arrange- 
ment, provided  always  that  his  plans  are  submitted  to  the  proper 
municipal  authorities  for  their  examination  and  approval  before 
the  development  can  proceed. 

"While  the  street  system  in  the  different  small  areas  formed 
by  the  secondary  streets  may  be  similarly  treated,  the  minor 
streets  running  directly  across  those  of  the  secondary  class,  there 
is  no  special  reason  why  this  should  be  done.  There  is  no  reason 
why  a  street  which  is  to  be  devoted  to  private  residences  should 
be  long  and  straight.  Among  the  most  attractive  features  of  a 
city  are  small  residential  areas  treated  in  a  distinctive  way, 
each  with  a  character  of  its  own,  which  the  visitor  stumbles 
upon  with  agreeable  surprise.  If  these  minor  subdivisions  are 
planned  at  different  times  or  by  different  persons,  this  variety 
in  treatment  is  more  likely  to  be  realized.  The  important 
thing  is  that  the  diagonals  or  the  main  arteries  be  planned 
first,  and  that  leading  off  from  them  will  be  highways  of 
secondary  importance,  from  which  again  will  branch  the  smaller 
and  less  important  streets.  As  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Unwin,  the 
development  of  a  street  system  is  somewhat  analogous  to  the 
growth  of  a  tree;  first,  the  trunk,  then  the  main  branches,  the 


The  Street  System  109 


minor  branches  and  the  twigs,  but  the  small  branches  and  the 
twigs  do  not  grow  directly  out  of  the  main  trunk.  Connections 
between  the  secondary  or  minor  streets  and  the  main  arteries  of 
trafhc  should  not  be  too  frequent  or  they  will  interfere  with 
ease  of  movement.  The  idea  that  subsidiary  streets  should  be 
connected  with  important  thoroughfares  at  frequent  intervals 
is  a  mistake.  Not  only  is  a  large  portion  of  valuable  frontage 
taken  by  these  openings,  but  traffic  movement  is  embarrassed. 
Whenever  a  system  of  diagonal  streets  is  superimposed  upon 
a  rectangular  plan,  the  awkwardness  of  acute  intersections 
with  important  diagonals  is  apparent.  It  would  be  better  if 
connections  with  important  thoroughfares  were  made  as  nearly 
at  right  angles  to  them  as  possible,  preserving  thereby  more 
desirable  sites  for  important  buildings  on  such  streets. 

Some  special  developments  may  already  have  been  planned 
before  the  main  and  secondary  street  systems  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  these,  provided  they  have  been  laid  out  with  reason- 
able skill  and  with  due  regard  for  sanitary  conditions,  usually 
can  be  incorporated  into  the  final  plan.  This  does  not  mean 
that  such  developments  should  be  permitted  without  previous 
approval  by  the  authorities  having  jurisdiction  over  the  city 
plan.  The  need  of  absolute  control  of  them  cannot  be  too 
strongly  insisted  upon,  but  in  most  American  cities  there  is 
no  provision  for  such  control,  and  they  may  have  been  laid  out 
before  the  area  in  which  they  are  located  became  a  part  of  the 
city.  Many  or  most  of  the  lots  may  have  been  sold  to  innocent 
purchasers,  and  to  ignore  them  or  to  lay  out  a  new  system  of 
streets  without  regard  for  them  would  impose  upon  the  new 
owners  a  real  hardship  and  an  expense  which  might  be  serious, 
while  the  original  developer  is  likely  to  have  "  unloaded  "  and  to 
have  put  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  punishment  for  his  dis- 
regard of  the  public  interest,  if  there  shall  have  been  such  dis- 
regard. It  may  not  be,  however,  that,  because  the  plan  which 
has  been  followed  is  not  one  that  the  engineer  who  is  charged 
with  the  duty  of  planning  the  street  system  for  the  new  area 
would  himself  have  followed,  it  is  essentially  bad  and  unsuited 


110  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


for  incorporation  into  the  new  plan.  It  might  well  answer 
for  one  of  the  minor  subdivisions,  yet  there  are  many  instances 
where  layouts  of  this  kind,  even  where  the  abutting  lots  have 
been  built  upon,  have  been  utterly  ignored  and  a  new  rectangular 
system  has  been  imposed  upon  the  area  as  if  it  were  entirely 
undeveloped.  The  new  plan  may  be  carried  out  at  great 
expense,  or,  years  after  its  adoption,  it  may  be  found  necessary 
to  abandon  it  altogether  and  revert  to  the  original  layout, 
with  awkward  connections  between  the  old  and  the  new  streets 
which  might  have  been  avoided  had  the  original  development 
been  recognized  in  the  first  place  and  incorporated  into  the 
street  system,  which  in  many  cases  would  actually  have  been 
improved  by  a  variation  from  the  gridiron  plan  which  so  gener- 
ally prevails. 

While  directness  is  desirable  in  the  main  and  even  the 
secondary  streets,  it  does  not  follow  that  such  streets  should 
be  perfectly  straight;  in  fact,  straight  streets  are  seldom  inter- 
esting. Neither  need  circumferential  or  curved  streets  be  laid 
out  with  perfect  symmetry.  The  great  boulevards  of  Paris 
consist  of  a  series  of  chords  of  varying  length,  with  deflections 
at  different  angles,  yet  their  pleasing  effect  is  in  no  wise  dimin- 
ished. Symmetry  on  a  plan  and  symmetry  on  the  ground  are 
very  different  things.  In  studying  a  plan  the  sHghtest  departure 
from  such  symmetry  is  noticeable,  yet  on  the  ground  it  cannot 
be  detected.  One  can  ride  or  walk  along  a  boulevard  following 
a  sweeping  curve  and  be  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  its  radius 
is  frequently  changing,  while  if  examined  on  a  plan  these  changes 
are  at  once  apparent.  Even  if  such  a  boulevard  were  broken 
into  short  straight  sections,  the  utihty  of  the  street  and  even 
its  beauty,  so  long  as  its  general  direction  is  preserved,  are 
practically  as  great  as  though  its  Unes  were  perfectly  straight 
or  symmetrical,  and  it  undoubtedly  acquires  added  interest 
from  the  fact  that  important  buildings  located  at  the  points 
where  the  direction  is  changed  will  show  to  excellent  advantage 
and  attractive  pictures  may  thus  be  formed.  Such  frequent 
changes  in  direction  are  conspicuous  features  of  the  plan  of 


A  small  section  of  the  plan  of  Paris  showing  the  irregular  yet  symmetrical 
arrangement  of  streets  and  boulevards  affording  admirable  sites  for  monu- 
mental buildings  (p.  iii). 


Plan    showing    the    over-intrusive  use  of    land    by  the  erection  of    rear 
dwellings  in  Charlottenburg  (p.  42). 


PLATE  17 


1^  N,*,      ^V""                "^ 

tei 

^^^^^^Hiil^^l^^^H^K;  J 

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Mi^sasiiafi— ^' 


Examples  of  curved  streets.  The  two  upper  views  show  the  introduction 
of  abrupt  curves  without  apparent  reason.  The  moderate  curvature  in  the 
lower  view  is  justified  by  the  topography  (p.  iii). 


The  Street  System  111 


Paris.  (PI.  i6.)  The  difference  between  the  actual  street 
and  the  plan  has  already  been  pointed  out.  Emphasis  should 
be  laid  upon  the  fact,  however,  that  it  is  the  street  itself  and  the 
buildings  on  either  side  of  it  that  the  people  see,  and  irregu- 
larity or  lack  of  symmetry  which  may  distress  a  draftsman  will 
never  be  noticed  on  the  ground. 

In  the  minor  streets  within  the  smaller  subdivisions,  while 
there  is  no  special  reason  for  making  them  straight  or  even 
direct,  the  deUberate  introduction  of  deflections  or  irregu- 
larities or  "  mere  aimless  wiggles,"  as  Mr.  Unwin  calls  them, 
may  seem  forced  and  irrational.  (PI.  17.)  In  recent  city 
planning  in  Germany  there  is  a  marked  disposition  to  intro- 
duce deflections  or  even  offsets  in  streets  at  frequent  inter- 
vals, sometimes  of  one  or  two  blocks,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  creating  interesting  street  pictures.  On  strictly  local  and 
unimportant  residential  streets  such  obstacles  to  the  free  move- 
ment of  vehicles  may  be  of  Uttle  moment,  while  the  streets 
undoubtedly  acquire  additional  interest  by  this  treatment.  If 
an  unexpected  amount  of  traffic  should  develop  along  these 
streets  the  inconvenience  caused  by  these  offsets  would  be  very 
great  and  would  be  an  excessive  price  to  pay  for  the  street  pic- 
tures. Several  methods  of  securing  the  desired  effects  and  at 
the  same  time  avoiding  embarrassment  to  street  traffic  are 
shown  in  Fig.  25,  such  treatment  being  frequently  adopted  in 
German  cities. 

Perhaps  no  city  to  which  modern  planning  has  been  con- 
sistently appHed  affords  a  better  example  of  studied  irregularity 
in  its  street  system  than  Essen,  located  in  the  largest  coal 
mining  and  industrial  district  of  Germany.  (Fig.  26.)  The 
old  portion  of  the  town  lies  north  of  the  railroad,  which  tra- 
verses the  city  from  east  to  west,  and  from  the  old  center  there 
is  an  excellent  system  of  radiating  traffic  streets,  while  several 
ring  streets  encircle  it.  In  the  newer  part  of  the  city  lying  south 
of  the  railroad  the  irregularity  of  the  minor  street  system  is 
as  conspicuous  as  in  the  older  town,  yet  these  streets  have  been 
carefully  planned  by  Dr.   R.   Schmidt,   the  chief  engineering 


112  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


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L. 

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1 — 1 

c 

— 1 

\         L 

— \      — ^ 

D                                                E 

F 

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Fig.   25. — Showing  different  methods  of  treating  offsets  or  irregular  street 
junctions  by  slight  enlargement  of  the  open  spaces. 


The  Street  System 


113 


ofificial  of  the  city.  Mr.  Harold  M.  Lewis  in  an  article  on  the 
planning  of  Essen  which  appeared  in  the  Engineering  News  of 
August  20,  1 9 14,  says  that:  "  The  streets  at  first  seem  to  be 
hopelessly  tangled  and  crooked,  but  as  soon  as  this  arrange- 


V 

Riiil 

City 

V^-""   (P.rk 
^■■■Squi 

Mm 

1 

fCV! 

1^  / 

i 

^ 

Hr 

CSi^ 

f1^ 

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/ 

irt  vifv\  /vn'^^^    XV^ 

/,' 

tt 

A^ 

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^x^SlSJ^ 

^B^^SF 

Ixnl 

8CAIE 

:ipal  tnffic  etreeta 

oado 

>0UDdar7 

B,  cemelerierand  wood 

ires,  market  places,  eto 

^HHHO         M          ^         «          IMUo 

Fig.  26.— General  plan  of  Essen,  showing  the  studied  irregularity  of  the  street 

system. 


ment  is  studied  it  becomes  apparent  that  this  is  a  carefully 
planned  disorder.  .  .  .  The  aim  of  the  planner  was  to  fur- 
nish throughout  the  city  constantly  new  and  varied  vistas  not 
only  in  respect  to  the  houses  and  their  relation  to  the  streets, 
but  also  to  the  width  and  arrangement  of  the  individual  streets. 


114  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  completeness  with  which  this  plan  has  been  carried  out  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  range  of  vision  in  the  streets  is  as 
a  rule  Hmited  to  650  to  1000  feet."  Further  comments  on  the 
treatment  of  individual  streets  of  Essen  will  be  found  in  the 
Chapter  on  Street  Details. 

Many  writers  on  city  planning  are  enthusiastic  over  the 
picturesque  attractiveness  of  the  mediaeval  Gothic  towns  of 
Germany,  and  they  draw  freely  upon  them  for  their  illustrations. 
Perhaps  there  is  a  disposition  to  credit  the  planners  of  these 
towns,  if  they  were  planned  in  the  modern  sense,  with  a  more 
serious  intention  to  produce  these  effects  than  they  are  entitled 
to.  The  adaptation  of  the  street  plans  to  a  rugged  topog- 
raphy has  resulted  in  some  very  charming  street  pictures,  the 
origin  of  which  is  attributed  to  a  finer  sense  of  arrangement 
than  is  shown  by  modern  town  planners,  while  it  may  be  due 
in  large  measure,  perhaps  wholly,  to  a  rational  use  of  rugged 
sites  for  the  buildings  first  required — castle,  church,  watch- 
tower,  etc. — and  then,  as  the  towns  grew,  to  the  fortunate 
location  of  the  streets  leading  to  and  connecting  them.  Town 
halls  and  guild  houses  were  not  required  in  the  early  history 
of  these  towns.  The  people  did  not  make  their  own  laws  and 
had  httle  use  for  legislative  halls  or  for  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment. Their  overlords  attended  to  these  details  for  them, 
as  well  as  to  such  planning  of  their  towns  as  was  deemed  nec- 
essary. No  one  will  deny  the  charms  of  these  old  cities,  but 
they  grew  out  of  social  conditions  which  are  fortunately  un- 
known to-day.  Their  locations,  the  placing  of  their  buildings, 
the  arrangement  and  dimensions  of  their  streets,  reflected  these 
conditions,  which  are  exceedingly  interesting  to  us.  Some  of 
their  features  may  be  worthy  of  reproduction  in  the  towns 
which  we  are  building  to-day,  but  extravagant  praise  of  them, 
coupled  with  condemnation  of  the  more  practical  but  less 
romantic,  though  more  livable,  cities  which  have  lately  been 
developed,  seems  unwarranted. 

The  continuity  of  streets  is  important,  but  by  continuity 
is  not  meant  their  prolongation   indefinitely  in  straight  lines, 


The  Street  System  115 


but  easy  connections  which  will  not  be  serious  obstacles  to 
traffic  movement  along  the  streets  themselves  or  along  those 
which  they  intersect  or  cross.  In  many  private  developments 
provision  for  such  continuity  is  often  overlooked  and  in  some 
cases  dehberately  avoided.  An  instance  is  given  by  a  British 
writer  where  two  adjoining  estates  with  areas  of  over  500  acres 
have  been  carefully  laid  out  with  the  express  purpose  of  pre- 
venting access  from  one  to  the  other,  and  the  by-laws  were 
powerless  to  prevent  this  unwise  action.  At  least  one  similar 
case  has  come  to  the  notice  of  the  author,  where  rival  land- 
scape architects  engaged  in  planning  the  development  of  adjoin- 
ing tracts  dehberately  located  their  roads  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  prevent  direct  communication. 

In  1874  Mr.  Samuel  McElroy  submitted  to  the  Town 
Survey  Commission  of  Kings  County,  N.  Y.,  plans  for  street 
systems  for  the  several  towns  of  that  county  outside  of  what 
was  then  the  City  of  Brooklyn.  His  report,  which  accompanies 
the  plans,  contains  some  excellent  observations,  but  the  em- 
phasis which  he  lays  upon  the  great  desirabihty  of  continuous 
streets  extended  for  long  distances,  whatever  may  be  the  prob- 
able character  of  the  development  of  the  abutting  property, 
illustrates  the  passion  for  uniformity  which  has  so  generally 
prevailed  in  the  United  States.  While  noting  "  the  tendency 
of  prominent  centers  to  connect  themselves  by  straight  lines, 
often  diagonal  to  the  intervening  systems,"  he  still  deplores 
the  fact  that  the  development  of  the  populated  centers  at 
certain  villages  did  not  "  permit  the  adoption  of  any  uniform 
system  of  streets  and  avenues  strictly  adapted  to  the  form  of 
Kings  County,"  and  that  the  plans  must,  therefore,  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  local  progress  made.  He  lays  down  the  general 
principle  that  streets  and  avenues  should  be  so  placed  that 
"  the  blocks  will  range  in  hues  parallel  with  those  of  greatest 
travel,"  and  he  therefore  projected  the  street  systems  already 
existing  in  the  different  parts  of  Brooklyn  as  far  as  possible 
into  the  territory  to  be  mapped,  and  he  described  the  resulting 
plan  as  giving  "  a  broad,  comprehensive  and  uniform  system 


116 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


of  streets  running  toward  the  ocean  or  the  harbor  carefully 
connected  with  the  city  streets  and  avenues  and  located  without 
regard  to  farm  lines  or  individual  interests."  There  were 
certain  points  of  interest  which  it  might  be  assumed  would 


Fig.  27. — Plan  showing  the  manner  in  which  an  old  established  center  was  ignored 
in  developing  the  street  plan  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


have  been  preserved  and  emphasized  in  a  plan  prepared  at  this 
time;  for  instance,  there  was  the  village  square  laid  out  by  the 
first  English  settlers  in  Kings  County  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. This  would  have  made  an  admirable  starting  point  for 
one  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  greater  plan,  yet  it  was  entirely 
ignored,   or  at  least  it  was    not  incorporated   into    the   plan 


The  Street  System 


117 


(Fig.  27).  An  old  road  of  great  historic  interest  followed 
a  course  which  would  have  made  an  excellent  circumferential 
street,  or  even  boulevard,  but  this  also  was  ignored,  although 
efforts  are  now  being  made  to  widen  it  and  use  it  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  so  well  fitted.     The  report  further  expresses 


Fig.  28.— Showing  the  disregard  of  existing  improvements  in  carrying  a  rect- 
angular street  system  across  old  streets  which  could,  without  serious 
objection,  have  been  incorporated  in  the  plan. 

disapproval  of  the  fact  that  the  location  of  a  part  of  the  great 
boulevard  laid  out  under  the  provisions  of  a  special  law  was 
so  changed  that  it  "  will  cross  our  system  diagonally  when  con- 
structed and  mutilate  a  general  plan  carefully  studied."  The 
unnecessary  disregard  in  this  plan  of  an  existing  development  is 
shown  by  Fig.  28*,  yet  forty  years  after  Mr.  McElroy's  plan  was 


118  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

made  some  of  the  streets  in  this  development  are  being  restored 
for  the  reason  that  their  elimination  would  involve  such  damage 
to  improvements  made  along  their  Unes  that  the  cost  was  found 
to  be  prohibitive. 

A  consideration  which  has  quite  generally  been  lost  sight 
of  in  the  planning  of  cities  is  the  orientation  of  the  streets  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  insure  a  certain  amount  of  direct  sunHght 
for  each  building,  particularly  for  each  dwelUng,  on  every  day 
of  the  year.  This  subject  has  been  discussed  with  special 
thoroughness  by  Mr.  A.  Augustin  Rey,  two  of  whose  papers 
are  well  worthy  of  study.^     Mr.  Rey  says: 

The  orientation  of  the  public  streets  and  the  consequences  that  it 
entails  dominate  in  reality  the  whole  health  of  towns  and  dwellings. 

How  could  it  have  been  forgotten  that  a  public  street  on  which  build- 
ings were  to  be  placed,  whose  importance  would  increase,  could  be  created 
in  no  matter  what  direction,  having  no  matter  what  width,  and  bordered 
by  buildings  whose  height  would  be  fixed  by  rules  without  rational  basis, 
without  foreseeing  the  disastrous  consequences  from  a  hygienic  point  of 
view  arising  from  such  neghgences?  The  buildings  covering,  for  example, 
the  town  of  Paris,  in  the  interior  of  the  fortified  enclosure,  represent  at  the 
present  time  fifteen  thousand  milUons  of  francs  (three  billion  dollars). 
And  no  regulation  whatever  has  concerned  itself  with  the  laws  of  light  for 
an  agglomeration  of  such  colossal  value. 

When  we  traverse  the  most  beautiful  towns  of  Europe  and  America 
it  is  really  amazing  to  observe  to  what  point  this  law  of  hght  has  been 
outrageously  violated  in  all  the  laymg  out  of  their  plans.  By  way  of 
example  for  all  towns  of  the  world,  we  have  concentrated  our  study  on  ten 
of  the  largest  towns  of  Europe  and  of  the  United  States  of  America.  One 
can  point  out  to  a  nicety  the  entire  absence  of  any  systematic  rule  having 
presided  at  the  establishment  of  these  plans.  Only  one  city  has  been 
planned  since  its  commencement  with  some  sense — the  American  Capital, 
Washington.  Its  plan  dates  from  1790,  and  it  is  the  work  of  Major 
I'Enfant,  who,  on  the  site  assigned  to  him,  mapped  out  in  advance  the 
seat  of  the  future  Capital  which  was  to  take  the  name  of  the  great 
American  citizen. 

1  Proceedings  of  the  First  International  Congress  of  Cities  held  at  Ghent, 
1913.  "  La  Ville  Salubre  de  I'Avenir,  Principes  Scientifiques  d'orientation 
des  voies  publiques  et  des  habitations." — Also  Town  Plammig  Review,  Vol.  VI, 
page  2. 


The  Street  System  119 


The  amount  of  direct  sunlight  which  will  reach  any  building 
is  obviously  dependent  upon  the  latitude  of  the  locahty,  the 
direction  and  width  of  the  street,  and  the  height  of  the  abutting 
buildings.  Mr.  Rey  has  computed  the  time  of  insolation  for 
buildings  of  three  different  heights  on  streets  running  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  and  at  angles  of  30  degrees  and  45  degrees 
from  the  north  and  south  line  for  ten  large  cities.  The  heights 
of  buildings  used  are  eight,  fifteen  and  twenty-one  meters, 
corresponding  with  two,  four  and  six  stories,  and  the  cities  are 
Moscow,  Berlin,  London,  Paris,  Vienna,  Boston,  Chicago, 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Washington,  the  latitude  of  the 
first  being  55°  45"  and  that  of  the  last  38°  53".  He  finds  that 
to  insure  two  hours  of  direct  sunlight  on  the  shortest  day  of 
the  year  a  street  in  Moscow  running  east  and  west  and  lined 
with  buildings  21  meters  high  would  have  to  be  105  meters 
or  344  ft.  wide,  while  in  Washington  a  similar  street  with  build- 
ings of  equal  height  would  have  three  hours  of  direct  sunlight 
if  it  were  42  meters  or  138  ft.  wide.  On  a  north  and  south 
street  in  Moscow,  with  buildings  only  eight  meters  high,  there 
:  would  be  one  hour  and  five  minutes  of  direct  sunlight  if  the  street 
were  12  meters  or  39  ft.  wide,  while  in  Washington  there  would 
be  one  hour  and  forty-five  minutes  of  such  direct  Hght  if  the 
street  were  but  eight  meters  or  26  ft.  wide.  Similar  computa- 
tions have  been  made  for  each  of  the  ten  cities  for  each  of  the 
three  heights  of  buildings,  and  for  streets  running  in  the  four 
directions  above  named.  The  subject  is  worthy  of  far  more 
careful  study  than  has  heretofore  been  given  to  it,  but  to  pro- 
vide the  amount  of  sunshine  which  Mr.  Rey  advises  would  be 
impossible  in  many  cases. 

The  cul-dc-sac  is  a  picturesque  feature  of  old  cities.  It  is 
apt  to  be  unsanitary  and  inconvenient,  and  it  constitutes  an 
element  of  danger  in  case  of  fire.  Every  street  should  be 
provided  either  with  a  direct  outlet  or  with  ample  space  for 
turning  vehicles  at  its  closed  end.  Some  writers  on  city  plan- 
ning have  protested  against  the  aboHtion  of  the  cul-dc-sac,  and 
it  must  be  granted  that  a  quiet  street  with  but  a  single  outlet, 


120 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


especially  when  provided  with  a  court  at  its  inner  end,  about 
which  buildings  can  be  grouped,  and  with  room  for  some  plant- 
ing in  the  center,  is  a  most  attractive  place  for  those  who  desire 
quiet  homes.     Such  a  subdivision  of  a  large  and  irregular  block 


Fig.  29. — Plan  showing  the  subdivision  of  an  irregular  block  by  the  creation  of 
an  interior  court  with  a  small  park  and  three  outlets. 


is  shown  by  Fig.  29,  although  the  court  is  provided  with  three 
outlets. 

American  cities  are  apt  to  provide  more  Hberally  for  their 
street  widths  than  are  those  of  Europe,  and  to  one  famiUar  with 
the  layout  of  the  newer  American  cities  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  English  town  planners  derive  much  satisfaction  from 
what  impresses  them  as  the  Hberal  provision  recently  made 


The  Street  System  121 


for  streets  in  certain  communities  in  Great  Britain.  In  one 
case  satisfaction  is  expressed  at  the  fact  that  the  main  lines 
of  communication  are  made  60  ft.  wide,  the  principal  tributaries 
50  ft.  and  streets  of  less  importance  40  ft.,  while  an  effort  was 
made  to  depart  from  the  gridiron  plan  by  providing  crescents 
with  open  spaces,  squares,  gardens,  etc.  Another  instance  is 
noted  where  in  an  area  of  27  acres,  with  a  population  of  6,500, 
the  owner  in  rebuilding  decided  to  co-operate  with  the  authorities 
and  substitute  main  avenues  60  ft.  wide  for  streets  which  were 
formerly  half  that  width. ^  Have  not  American  cities  in  many 
instances  gone  too  far  in  providing  wide  streets,  or  have  they 
not,  influenced,  perhaps,  by  the  recent  passion  for  standardizing 
everything,  lost  sight  of  the  great  difference  in  the  needs  of 
traffic  and  business  streets  and  those  which  will  be  devoted 
entirely  to  residences,  in  many  of  which  the  chief  consideration 
is  the  provision  of  decent  and  sanitary  homes  at  a  minimum  of 
expense  for  land  and  improvements?  The  oldest  cities  both 
in  Europe  and  America  nearly  always  suffer  from  a  lack  of 
wide  streets,  and  the  cost  of  supplying  them  is  so  great  as  to 
be  almost  prohibitive.  Yet  too  wide  streets  may  prove  to  be  a 
serious  handicap  in  that  they  are  likely  to  result  in  soUdly  built 
blocks  of  tall  tenements,  the  rents  in  which  are  unduly  high 
owing  to  the  fact  that  extravagant  street  improvements  must 
be  paid  for  by  the  property.  Mr.  Thomas  Adams  has  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  system  of  block  dwelHngs  found  in  Germany 
and  Sweden  are  as  much  the  result  of  too  wide  streets  as  the  need 
of  wide  streets  is  the  result  of  compactly  built  tenements. 
Dr.  Werner  Hegeman,  of  BerUn,  also  says  that:  "  Berhn, 
with  her  200,000  famiUes  in  one-room  dwellings,  is  suffering 
from  too  wide,  too  well  paved,  and  too  highly  organized  roads, 
and  from  the  extensive  high  tenement  houses  that  seem  neces- 
sarily to  result  from  too  expensive  roads  carried  into  purely 
dwelHng-house  districts."  -  Instances  of  over  building  are 
frequently  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  much-admired  German 

1  Proceedings  of  London  Town  Planning  Conference,  19 lo,  page  298. 
^  Ibid.,  page  239. 


12^  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

cities,  an  example  taken  from  Charlottenburg  being  shown  by 
one  of  the  illustrations  on  PL  16.  While  excessively  wide 
streets  may  be  provided  in  some  cases,  a  lack  of  them  is  far 
more  common.  It  is  said  that  Paris  has  102  miles  of  streets 
98  ft.  or  more  in  width,  while  London  has  but  8^  miles  of 
streets  of  as  great  a  width. 

The  size  of  the  individual  building  plot,  and  consequently 
the  size  of  the  blocks,  which  are  simply  groups  of  plots,  will 
be  determined  by  the  distance  between  the  streets,  or  it  might 
be  more  accurate  to  say  that  in  the  final  subdivision  into  streets 
the  customary  size  of  the  plots  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
combined  in  blocks  determines  the  distance  between  streets 
and  to  a  certain  degree  their  location.     What,   then,  is  the 
reasonable   and   economic   size   of   building  plot   units?     This 
size  is  likely  to  be  determined  by  an  estabUshed  poUcy,  which 
is  a  habit  rather  than  the  result  of  a  study  of  the  possibilities 
of  economic  development  or  its  effect  upon  social  conditions. 
In  New  York  the  standard  plot  is  20  or  25  ft.  wide  by  100  ft. 
in  depth.     The  width  varies  in  the  different  parts  of  the  city, 
but  the  depth  of  100  ft.  is  almost  invariable.     If  an  owner 
desires  more  than  one  lot,  he  buys  several  of  these  units,  but  the 
buildings,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have  frontages  which  are 
multiples  of  this  standard  lot  width,  and  only  in  cases  where 
they  extend  through  the  block  from  street  to  street  is  their 
depth  more  than  100  ft.  or  such  proportional  part  of  that  depth 
as  the  building  laws  permit  to  be  occupied.     This  lot  depth 
prevails   alike   in   commercial,   manufacturing   and   residential 
districts,   whether  the  last  named  be  devoted  to  costly  de- 
tached houses,  to  compactly  built  tenements,  or  to  small  houses 
designed  for  workmen  or  small  salaried  clerks.     In  any  case 
the  number  of  square  feet  to  be  acquired  for  each  foot  of  front- 
age is  the  same,  whether  it  is  to  be  used  by  a  great  manufactur- 
ing or  commercial  concern,  by  a  man  of  wealth  for  the  erection 
of  a  fine  mansion,  or  by  the  person  of  slender  means  who  is 
obUged  to  borrow  the  money  to  provide  a  home  and  where 
the  payment  of  interest  on  his  mortgage  taxes  his  resources  to 


The  Street  System  123 


the  utmost.  The  price  per  front  foot  will,  of  course,  vary  with 
the  character  of  the  neighborhood  and  with  the  width  of  the 
street  and  the  cost  of  its  improvement;  but  when  the  street 
width,  as  well  as  the  lot  size,  is  rigidly  standardized,  the  work- 
man who  desires  a  cheap  home  suffers  a  serious  and  unfair 
handicap.  And  it  matters  not  whether  he  tries  to  own  his 
own  home  or,  as  in  most  cases,  rents  one;  the  burden  runs 
with  the  land,  and  if  he  does  not  pay  in  interest  he  pays  in  rent. 
The  man  of  wealth  can  afford  to  pay  for  a  large  plot  to  accommo- 
date his  home.  The  poor  man  should  have  the  opportunity 
to  pay  for  as  Httle  land  as  will  provide  the  home  he  wishes, 
with  an  insurance  of  sufficient  light  and  air  about  it  to  make 
that  home  decent  and  healthful.  A  cottage  25  or  30  ft.  in 
depth  does  not  need  a  lot  100  ft.  deep  to  accommodate  it.  Why, 
then,  should  not  the  builder  of  such  a  cottage,  whether  it  be 
for  occupancy  or  rent,  be  able  to  secure  a  lot  of  suitable  size 
on  which  to  place  it?  If  the  back-yard  abutting  against  a  similar 
back-yard  on  the  next  street  were  used  as  a  garden,  the  case 
might  be  different;  but,  even  where  there  is  room  for  them, 
gardens  are  seldom  made,  and  in  most  cases  the  reduction  in 
the  cost  of  the  site  would  more  than  offset  the  value  of  the  rear 
garden,  especially  where  there  is  space  for  some  planting  in  the 
front  or  where  pubHc  gardens  or  small  parks  are  provided  in 
the  neighborhood.  With  lots  of  less  depth  the  street  widths 
could  also  be  less,  assuming  always  that  the  ordinances  are 
such  as  will  prevent  the  intensive  development  of  shallow 
lots  with  compactly  built  tenements  four  stories  or  more  in 
height. 

Figs.  30  and  31  show  an  area  approximately  triangular  in 
shape  between  bounding  streets  100  ft.  and  80  ft.  in  width. 
Both  are  taken  from  a  plan  of  one  of  the  eastern  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Fig.  30  shows  the  system  of  streets  by  which 
this  area  is  subdivided  and  the  manner  in  which  each  block  is 
cut  into  building  plots,  the  standard  width  of  which  is  40  ft. 
with  a  depth  of  100  ft.  These  streets  are  simply  a  continuation 
of  a  rigid  rectangular  system  which  covers  the  entire  territory 


124 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


surrounding  the  particular  area  under  consideration.  The 
development  contemplated  is  evidently  one  of  detached  houses 
for  one  or  two  famiUes.  Fig.  31  shows  an  alternative  scheme 
of  development  using  streets  50  ft.  and  40  ft.  in  width  with  plots 
having  frontages  of  50  ft.  and  depths  of  60  ft.  The  entire  area 
between  the  bounding  streets  is  24.93  acres.     Under  the  first 


— !_U_i_U_J_LL^ 


]    L_ 


m^ 


Fig.  30. — Plan  showing  a  conventional  method  of  subdividing  a  triangular 
area  into  blocks  200  by  700  ft.  by  streets  60  and  80  ft.  wide,  resulting 
in  acute  intersections  with  the  diagonal  bounding  street  and  providing 
building  plots  40  ft.  wide  and  100  ft.  deep. 


plan  24  per  cent  of  the  area  is  devoted  to  streets  and  76  per 
cent  to  lots;  under  the  second  plan  26  per  cent  is  given  up  to 
streets  and  74  per  cent  to  lots;  in  the  second  plan,  however,  is 
included  a  small  park  sHghtly  over  half  an  acre  in  extent.  For 
streets  having  widths  of  60  and  80  ft.  the  standard  roadways  in 
the  city  under  consideration  are  30  ft.  and  44  ft.  respectively, 
with  sidewalk  pavements  5  ft.  in  width.  In  the  alternative  plan 
the  streets  40  ft.  and  50  ft.  wide  are  assumed  to  have  roadways  of 


The  Street  System 


125 


1 6  ft.  and  20  ft.  respectively,  while  all  sidewalk  pavements  are 
4  ft.  wide.  In  the  second  plan  the  amount  of  curbing;  will  be 
58  per  cent  greater,  of  sidewalks  26  per  cent  greater,  of  sewers 
97  per  cent  greater  than  under  the  first,  but  the  area  of  pave- 
ment will  be  26  per  cent  less. 

I    L_ 


J     L 


^^*" 


s 

1 


■^ 


10 

•^ 

T 

j^ 

Fig.  31. — Plan  showing  an  alternative  subdivision  of  the  same  triangular 
area  by  streets  40  and  50  ft.  wide  with  better  junctions  with  the  diagonal 
bounding  street,  providing  building  plots  50  ft.  wide  and  60  ft.  deep  and 
a  small  neighborhood  park. 

The  cost  of  the  land  is  estimated  to  be  $3000  an  acre  and  the 
tract  to  be  so  nearly  level  that  the  slight  amount  of  grading 
required  is  included  in  the  cost  of  the  paving.  The  entire 
cost  of  development  under  the  two  plans  is  indicated  by  Table 
IV. 

There  is  no  more  perplexing  problem  met  in  city  planning 
than  that  of  land  subdivision,  both  into  blocks  and  lots.  Em- 
phasis has  already  been  placed  upon  the  need  of  as  much  flexi- 
bility as  possible  in  the  street  plan,  in  order  to  make  it  adaptable 
to  changing  conditions  of  use  and  occupancy.     Nearly  every 


126 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


city  affords  numerous  illustrations  of  such  changes,  residential 
districts  of  the  better  class  having  in  time  been  converted  into 
cheap  tenements  or  into  combined  shops  and  flats,  and  these 
in  turn  having  been  displaced  by  warehouses  and  factories. 
At  the  City  Planning  Conference  held  in  Detroit,  in  191 5,  an 
excellent  report  upon  this  subject  was  presented  by  Mr.  E,  P. 
Goodrich,  which  was  followed  by  a  valuable  discussion.^  The 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  a  typical  block  in  New 
York  from  1853  to  1914  were  illustrated  by  diagrams  showing 
the  proportions  of  the  lots  covered,  and  the  nature  of  the  occu- 
pancy in  1853,  1884,  1893,  1905  and  1914.  The  first  and  last 
of  these  are  reproduced  as  Fig.  32. 


TABLE  IV 

Showing  the  Relative  Cost  of  Development    of  the   same  Area   under 
Different  Methods  of  Subdivision,  as  Indicated  by  Figs.  30  and  31. 


Fig.  30. 


Fig.  31. 


Cost  of  land 

Curbing 

Asphalt  pavement 

Cement  walks 

Sewers 

Total  cost 

Or  if  macadam  is  substituted  for  asphalt  pavement . 

Total  number  of  plots 

Average  area  of  plots 

Cost  per  plot  with  asphalt  pavement 

Cost  per  plot  with  macadam  pavement 


$  74,790 

$  74,790 

2,919 

4,625 

31,054 

26,653 

8,343 

10,480 

4,954 

9,360 

$122,060 

$123,908 

108,985 

113,528 

204 

259 

4,041  sq.  ft. 

3,033  sq.  ft 

$598.33 

$478.41 

$533-75 

$438.33 

Most  of  the  lot  subdivisions  are  determined  by  the  real- 
estate  developer,  who  is  naturally  disposed  to  divide  each 
block  into  lots  of  the  size  that  can  most  readily  be  disposed  of 
at  the  time,  although  in  many  cases  his  purpose  is  to  give  a 
distinctive  character  to  the  neighborhood.  Where  the  plots 
are  of  generous  size  they  can  quite  readily  be  adapted  to  changed 

^  Proceedings  of  the  Seventh  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  Detroit, 
1915- 


The  Street  System 


127 


conditions  and  other  uses,  but  where  the  lot  units  are  small 
this  is  very  difficult,  owing  to  the  fact  that  so  many  different 
owners  must  be  dealt  with  in  order  to  combine  a  number  of 
small  plots  into  sufficiently  large  units  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
altered  use  of  the  property.     The  city  authorities,  recognizing 


IN   1853 
Amity  St. 


eLEyATEq_R^R_^eCTEp_rN_1878j--:^N 

Z=Wr-3rd IN--V914-(o2^t7-W-ideppSi;^ 


Bleecker 


Fig.  32. — Showing    changes   in   subdivision   and  in  area    built  upon  in  typical 
block  in  New  York,  1853  to  1914. 

the  desire  of  the  developer  to  provide  lots  and  houses  which 
are  readily  salable,  is  generally  disposed  to  consent  to  the 
establishment  of  block  dimensions  which  will  make  this  possi- 
ble. In  Philadelphia  a  considerable  portion  of  the  city  was 
originally  laid  out  in  blocks  396  by  400  ft.  in  size,  bounded  by 
streets  50  and  60  ft.  wide,  and,  in  order  to  provide  for  the 


128 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


single-family  houses,  so  characteristic  of  that  city,  these  blocks 
have  frequently  been  divided  into  smaller  ones  by  introducing 
two  additional  streets  40  ft.  wide,  resulting  in  the  creation  of 
168  building  plots  varying  from  14  to  16  ft.  in  width  and  from 


j^ 


^ 


•396- 


^0^ 


/■ 

•N, 

J 

^— 51-^— *v 

f— 19-^— * 

"H-l-so^ 


396'- 


^oJ?" 


Fig.  33. — Plan  showing  a  method  frequently  employed  in  Philadelphia  of 
subdividing  a  block  396  by  400  ft.  in  size  to  provide  168  building  plots  or 
46  dwellings  to  an  acre. 


49  to  60  ft.  in  depth,  with  passageways  three  feet  wide  separat- 
ing the  lots  in  the  rear.  The  city  ordinances  prescribe  a  mini- 
mum width  of  14  ft.  for  any  dwelHng  house  and  a  minimum  open 
space  of  144  sq.  ft.  for  each  lot,  and  these  lots  are  used  to  the 


The  Street  System 


129 


greatest  allowable  extent,  while  some  builders  have  attempted 
to  count  the  rear  passageway  in  the  required  open  space.  A 
typical  plan  of  this  subdivision  is  shown  by  Fig.  33.  This  may 
be  better  than  four  and  five-story  tenements  on  lots  25  by  100 
ft.  housing  four  families  on  each  floor,  but  it  is  a  too  intensive 
use  of  the  land,  which  Philadelphia  is  trying  to  find  means  of 


70 


cMiQtoiffllCTiQiiiilcbimiCb 


70 


70 


s 


a[]C3[]ao,^ca' 


70 


Fig.  34. — Group  of  semi-detached  houses  served  by  a  central  heating  plant  (A). 
The  plant  is  depressed  and  its  chimney  is  combined  with  that  of  the 
church.     (See  PI.  i8.) 


correcting.  A  very  satisfactory  and  attractive  manner  of 
subdividing  a  block  200  by  700  ft.  for  high  class  semi-detached 
houses  has  been  adopted  to  a  limited  extent  in  Brooklyn,  and 
is  shown  by  Fig.  34.  In  this  block  there  is  a  central  heating 
plant  built  below  the  surface  of  the  back-yards,  the  chimney  of 
which  is  combined  with  that  of  a  church  at  one  end  of  the 
block. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PARKS  AND   RECREATION  FACILITIES 

WHILE  most  cities  which  have  not  had  their  beginning  in 
a  cluster  of  buildings  grouped  about  a  baronial  castle 
have  had  as  their  nucleus  some  public  open  space  where  the 
people  were  wont  to  gather  for  meetings  or  for  recreation,  the 
creation  of  a  system  of  parks  or  playgrounds  has  been  quite  a 
recent  development  in  city  building.  It  is  true  that  open  spaces 
such  as  we  would  to-day  call  parks  date  from  the  earliest  times. 
The  ancient  Egyptians  appear  to  have  had  in  their  cities  certain 
open  spaces  usually  treated  in  a  formal  manner  and  adorned 
with  sculpture  and  architectural  features,  but  these  were  prob- 
ably little  more  than  gardens.  The  Romans  created  some  great 
parks  which  included  gardens,  athletic  fields  and  areas  treated  as 
are  our  formal  parks  with  canals,  fountains  and  cascades.  In  the 
capitals  of  Europe  some  of  the  parks  were  developed  during  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  as  royal  pleasure  grounds. 
They  were  laid  out  on  the  most  extensive  scale  and  were  lavishly 
adorned  with  sculpture,  fountains  and  other  decorative  features. 
It  was  in  the  design  and  construction  of  these  great  royal  estates 
or  parks  that  the  profession  of  landscape  architecture,  as  we 
know  it,  came  into  existence.  Such  parks  are  now  either  the 
common  property  of  the  people  or,  if  still  nominally  an  appur- 
tenance of  the  Crown,  the  public  has  the  free  use  of  them,  and 
the  chateau  or  schloss  or  palace  about  which  they  are  laid  out 
has  become  a  picture  gallery  or  historical  museum.  The  city 
park,  laid  out,  acquired  and  developed  as  a  public  playground 
is  a  modern  idea,  and  is  a  result  of  the  steadily  increasing  size 
of  our  cities.  Even  yet,  the  park  system  is  a  haphazard  growth 
and  its  place  as  a  part  of  the  city  plan  is  not  fully  appreciated, 

130 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  131 

although  its  title  to  such  recognition  has  been  insisted  upon  in  a 
preceding  chapter.  It  is  obvious  that  the  needs  of  a  city  for  open 
spaces  cannot  be  anticipated  to  the  same  degree  as  can  its  re- 
quirements for  transportation  and  a  street  system.  These  latter 
depend  to  such  an  extent  upon  natural  features  that  the  general 
line  of  their  development  suggests  itself.  Estimates  have  been 
made  of  the  percentage  of  a  city  area  which  should  be  devoted 
to  parks  or  the  proper  number  of  people  to  each  acre  of  park- 
land, but  the  needs  of  an  urban  community  cannot  be  determined 
in  this  manner.  A  compactly  built  city  where  the  individual 
dwellings  have  no  open  spaces  about  them,  where  the  streets 
are  narrow  and  where  the  average  number  of  occupants  to  each 
dwelling  is  large,  requires  a  greater  park  space  per  capita  and 
a  larger  space  in  proportion  to  the  area  of  the  city.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  dwellings  are  detached  and  each  has  its  garden, 
where  the  streets  are  broad  and  lined  with  trees,  the  need  of 
parks  is  much  less.  The  industrial  town  or  district  has  a  far 
greater  need  of  park  reservations  than  does  the  residential 
town  or  district,  while  it  usually  has  less.  The  great  variation 
which  is  found  in  the  park  areas  in  different  cities  in  propor- 
tion to  population  and  total  area  of  the  city  is  indicated  by 
Table  V,  in  which  are  given  the  average  density  of  population 
of  the  area  within  the  city  Hmits  and  the  area  of  park  reserva- 
tions within  or  contiguous  to  the  city. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Paris  exceeds  all  of  the  other  cities  in 
the  Hst  in  density  of  population,  being  compactly  built  within 
the  old  city  walls  and  not  having  annexed  adjacent  territory; 
but  its  park  area  is  greatest  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  city, 
owing  to  its  two  great  contiguous  parks.  Paris  actually  has 
an  acre  of  park  for  every  554  of  its  population,  although  the 
open  spaces  in  the  built-up  portions  are  very  meagre. 

BerUn  comes  next  in  density  of  population,  but  greatly 
exceeds  all  other  German  cities  in  this  respect,  while  its  park 
areas,  though  slightly  above  the  average  in  percentage  of  the 
area  of  the  city,  are  less  in  proportion  to  population  than  those 
of  any  of  the  other  cities  except  Marseilles  and  Lyons.     It  might 


132 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


TABLE  V 
Showing  Park  Statistics  of  Various  Cities 


City. 


Population. 


Area 

IN 

Acres. 


Parks. 


Area 

IN 

Acres. 


%  OF 

Total 

Area. 


Population. 


Per 

Acre  of 

City. 


Per 

Acre  of 

Park. 


London  (Met.  Dist.) 
London  (Adm.  Co.). 

New  York 

Paris 

Chicago 

Berlin 

Philadelphia 

Hamburg 

Birmingham 

Liverpool 

St.  Louis 

Boston 

Munich 

Leipzig 

Baltimore 

Cologne 

Marseilles 

Lyons 

Sheffield 

Diisseldorf 

Washington 

Kansas  City 

Rochester 


7,251,358  a 
4,521,685  a 

5,333,539  <^ 
2,847,229  a 

2,393,325  d 

2,082,111  c 

1,657,810  rf 

1,006,748  h 

840,202  a 

760,000  d 

734,667  d 

733,802  h 

636,000  c 

615,000  c 

579,59°^ 
544,400  c 
528,000  a 
523,796  a 
476,971  d 
407,000  c 
353,378^ 
281,911  d 
241,518  d 


443,424 
74,816 

189,662 
19,279 

124,448 
15,696 
82,933 
30,527 
43,601 
21,219 
39,100 
27,612 

23,633 
19,217 
19,290 
29,001 
6,176 
10,045 

24,347 
27,562 
38,400 
37,443 
17,352 


15,901^ 
6,675 
7,738 
5,014 
4,388 
1,034 
5,143 
808 

1,414 
1,282 

2,765 
3,545^ 
1,783 
570 
2,402 

745 
210 

257 
682 

2,738 
5,212 
1,952^ 
1,836 


4 

9 

4 

26 

4 
7 
6 

3 
3 
6 

7 

13 

8 

3 
12 

3 
3 
3 
3 
10 

14 
5 


16 
60 
28 

148 
19 

133 
20 

19 

36 
19 
27 
27 
32 
30 
19 
87 
52 
20 

15 
9 

8 

14 


Averages  including  the  County  of  London,  but  not  the 
Metropolitan  District 


6.32 


30.5 


456 
677 
689 

554 
545 

2,014 
322 

1,246 
598 
593 
266 
207 
356 

1,079 
241 

731 
2,562 
2,038 

699 
149 
68 
144 
133 


483 


o,  h,  c  and  d  represent  population  in  1911,  1912,  1913  and  1914  respectively. 

1  Of  the  park  reservations  in  the  London  Metropolitan  District,  4026  acres 
are  owned  and  maintained  by  the  Goverrmient,  5070  acres  by  the  London  County 
Council,  6491  acres  by  the  City  Corporation,  and  314  acres  by  the  several  Metro- 
politan Borough  Councils. 

2  This  area  does  not  include  the  system  of  wild  parks  outside  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  but  within  a  radius  of  15  miles.  These  parks  have  a  combined  area 
of  9464  acres,  and  if  they  were  included,  they  would  make  the  total  park  area 
47  per  cent  of  that  of  the  city  and  would  reduce  the  number  of  people  per  acre 
of  park  to  57. 

^  Kansas  City,  in  addition  to  its  park  area,  has  an  unusually  complete  system 
of  connecting  boulevards  and  parkways,  with  an  aggregate  length  of  more  than 
35  miles. 


PLATE  18 


A  depressed  central  heating  plant  serving  a  group  of  houses  and  using  the 
chimney  of  the  adjacent  church.    See  Fig.  34  (p.  129). 


The  site  of  Canberra,  the  proposed   Australian  Capital   City.      Reproduced 
from  "Town  Planning  for  Australia,"  by  George  A.  Taylor.    See  Plate  15  (p.  87). 


PLATE   19 


Plan  showing  the  complete  system  of  parks  and  parkwaj^s  of  Kansas  City 
and  the  several  park  districts  upon  which  was  assessed  the  cost  of  the  parkways 
(PP-  '^33,  139  and  178). 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  1S3 

be  thought  that  Berlin's  small  proportion  of  parks  to  population 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  does  not  include  within  its  boundaries 
a  number  of  nearby  suburban  towns  which  are  less  intensively- 
developed,  but  the  contiguous  city  of  Charlottenburg,  which 
had  a  population  of  325,300  in  1913,  has  a  density  of  56  persons 
to  the  acre,  or  more  than  any  other  German  city  in  the  Hst, 
except  BerHn  itself,  although  it  provides  but  one  acre  of  park 
to  528  people. 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  cities  just  mentioned  is  the 
national  capital  of  the  United  States  which  has  but  nine  people 
to  the  acre,  has  devoted  14  per  cent  of  its  area  to  parks  which 
include  the  spacious  grounds  around  the  pubHc  buildings  and 
has  an  acre  of  open  space  to  every  68  of  its  population.  Kansas 
City,  while  having  a  density  of  population  of  but  eight  to  an 
acre,  has  devoted  five  per  cent  of  its  area  to  parks  and  has  an 
acre  of  park  land  to  every  144  of  its  population.  Especially 
worthy  of  consideration  is  the  method  by  which  this  city  has 
bought  and  paid  for  its  system  of  parks  and  parkways,  which 
is  described  in  the  chapter  on  Financing  a  City  Plan.     (See 

PI.19O 

While  New  York  contains  within  its  limits  the  most  densely 
populated  spots  on  earth,  the  average  population  per  acre  is 
less  than  in  Leipzig,  Hamburg  or  Liverpool  and  its  park  reser- 
vations in  proportion  to  area  and  population  are  greater  than 
those  of  Leipzig  and  Hamburg  but  less  than  those  of  Liverpool. 
New  York's  parks,  however,  are  not  well  distributed,  as  will 
be  seen  by  an  examination  of  Table  VI.  This  table  includes 
only  the  parks  which  are  actually  owned  by  the  city.  In  the 
Boroughs  of  Queens  and  Richmond,  which  are  largely  unde- 
veloped, a  few  park  reservations  have  been  acquired  and  others 
have  been  proposed  and  tentatively  mapped,  but  no  steps 
have  yet  been  taken  to  acquire  them.  The  most  feasible  time 
to  do  so  would  be  before  the  tracts  are  built  upon  or  otherwise 
improved;  but  the  experience  of  most  cities  has  been  that 
acquisition  is  deferred  until  the  cost  has  become  so  great  that 
the  projects  frequently  have  to  be  abandoned. 


134 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


TABLE  VI 

Showing  the  Distribution  of  Park  Areas  among  the  Different  Bor- 
oughs OF  the  City  of  New  York 


;POPULATION. 

Area  in 
Acres. 

Parks. 

Population. 

Borough. 

Area  in 
Acres. 

%  OF 

Total 
Area. 

Per 
Acre 

OF 

City. 

Per 

Acre 

OF  Park. 

Manhattan 

BrookljTi 

2,536,716 

1,833,696 

529,198 

339,886 

94,043 

14,038 

45,327 
26,523 

67,174 
36,600 

1,443 
1,201 

3,957 
1,070 

67 

10.3% 
2.7% 

14.9% 

■    1.6% 

0.2% 

181 
40 
20 

5 
3 

1,758 
1,527 

Bronx 

134 

Queens 

318 

Richmond 

1,404 

Entire  city. .  . . 

5,333,539 

189,662 

7,738 

4.1% 

28 

689 

An  examination  of  the  table  of  park  statistics  shows  the 
greatest  variation  in  percentage  of  park  area  and  in  the  number 
of  persons  to  an  acre  of  park,  and  demonstrates  the  futility  of 
attempting  to  estimate  the  actual  needs  of  a  city  in  this  respect. 
Mr.  Charles  Downing  Lay,  editor  of  "  Landscape  Architec- 
ture "  and  formerly  landscape  architect  of  the  New  York 
Department  of  Parks,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Conference  of 
Mayors  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1914  estimated  the  park 
needs  of  a  community  of  100,000  people  as  follows: 

Wild  parks 700  acres 

One  large  rural  park 4°° 

Ten  small  parks 250 

Fifty  playgrounds 100 

Gardens,  squares,  etc 5° 


Total 1500       " 

He  assumed  that  i2|  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  city  would 
be  devoted  to  parks  so  that  the  area  of  the  city  would  be 
12,000  acres,  giving  an  average  density  of  population  of  8^ 
persons  per  acre,  and  an  allowance  of  one  acre  of  park  to  66f 
people.  This  generous  allowance  is  closely  approached  by 
Washington,  which  even  exceeds  the  percentage  of  area  devoted 
to  parks;  but,  as  noted  in  another  chapter,  Washington  has  been 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  135 

planned  and  built  on  a  grand  scale,  largely  at  the  expense  of 
a  great  and  wealthy  nation,  and  no  ordinary  city  could  possibly 
afford  such  a  development.  Boston,  too,  has  approximated 
Mr.  Lay's  suggestion  as  to  the  proportion  of  its  area  to  be  given 
over  to  parks  and,  if  her  great  wild  parks  are  included,  has  greatly 
exceeded  it,  while  Diisseldorf  is  not  far  behind;  but  these  two 
cities  are  so  clearly  exceptional  as  to  be  in  a  class  by  themselves. 

It  is  frequently  argued  that  it  is  folly  to  select  and  acquire 
park  reservations  until  the  actual  need  of  them  is  unquestion- 
able, and  that  they  shall  then  be  placed  where  that  need  is 
greatest;  that  the  additional  expense  of  their  acquisition  at  the 
enhanced  value  due  to  the  city's  development,  and  even  to  the 
destruction  of  buildings  if  the  area  selected  shall  have  been  built 
upon,  will  be  less  than  the  carrying  charges  and  loss  of  taxes  if 
they  are  bought  in  advance  of  their  actual  need;  that  unim- 
proved parks  are  of  little  value  and  that  their  development  at 
great  cost  is  likely  to  be  undertaken  prematurely  if  they  are  pur- 
chased at  an  early  date.  There  may  be  instances  where  this 
has  proved  to  be  the  case,  but  they  are  the  exception  rather  than 
the  rule.  A  word  of  caution  against  premature  or  over-develop- 
ment of  park  area  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Mr.  S.  D.  Adshead 
has  entered  his  protest  against  the  disposition  to  introduce  so 
many  spaved  walks,  terra-cotta  vases,  etc.,  in  places  which 
would  be  in  far  better  character  if  left  like  Hampstead  Heath 
or  some  woodland  glade.  "  Why,"  he  asks,  "  spend  so  much 
in  making  beautiful  fields  into  ugly  parks  ?" 

The  unrelated  and  inconveniently  located  parks  in  many 
cities  indicate  quite  clearly  that  they  were  selected  with  Uttle 
regard  to  each  other,  that  the  most  available  or  cheapest  land 
which  offered  itself  at  the  time  was  taken,  or,  as  is  not  infre- 
quently the  case,  that  the  final  selection  was  controlled  to  a  large 
degree  by  the  persistent  effort  or  the  influence^  of  those  who  may 
have  had  property  which  they  would  like  to  dispose  of  at 
a  good  price  or  who  had  other  holdings  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  the  value  of  which  would  be  increased  or  which 
would  be  made  marketable  by  the  location  of  a  park  in  the 


136  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

vicinity.  The  argument  that  a  park  should  not  be  acquired 
unless  it  is  at  once  to  be  improved,  is  an  unsound  one. 

PubUc  pleasure  grounds  may  be  divided  into  three  classes: 
the  wild  park,  where  the  natural  conditions  remain  undisturbed 
as  far  as  possible ;  the  developed  park,  where  by  skilful  treatment 
and  planting  such  natural  features  as  meadows,  woods  and  lakes 
are  combined ;  the  formal  park,  which  is  more  in  the  nature  of 
a  garden.  A  city  park,  if  of  sufficient  size,  may  pass  succes- 
sively through  these  stages.  There  is  no  greater  boon  to  the 
city  dweller  than  the  opportunity  to  frequent  a  place  where 
nature  has  been  interfered  with  to  the  least  possible  degree. 
A  few  walks  and  roads  through  the  woods  are  all  that  is  necessary 
in  the  way  of  improvement.  As  such  parks  become  more 
frequented,  and  as  their  natural  beauties  are  much  more  likely 
to  be  destroyed,  a  greater  degree  of  development  with  more 
strict  pohcing  may  be  required  and  gradually  the  wild  park 
becomes  a  developed  park,  while  portions  of  it  may  in  time  be 
treated  as  a  formal  garden.  This  process  of  evolution  may  cover 
a  decade  or  a  generation,  and  meanwhile  other  wild  parks  lying 
further  out  may  be  acquired.  Boston  has  exercised  unusual  fore- 
sight in  acquiring  a  group  of  such  parks  well  outside  of  the  city 
limits  and  the  organization  and  administration  of  its  system 
of  metropoUtan  parks  is  admirable  (Fig.  35).  This  system, 
as  indicated  by  Table  V,  covers  an  area  of  9464  acres  in 
addition  to  the  3545  acres  within  and  without  the  city  limits, 
but  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  authorities.  There  are 
14  different  park  reservations  located  in  ten  cities  and  19  towns, 
but  all  within  a  radius  of  about  15  miles  from  the  State  House. 
It  also  includes  nearly  35  miles  of  parkways  with  an  area  of 
963  acres,  which  is  equivalent  to  an  average  width  of  227  ft. 
for  the  parkways. 

Parks  are  commonly  the  beauty  spots  of  a  city,  and  when 
fully  developed  often  become  the  most  valuable  land  in  the 
district  in  which  they  are  located ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  had  a  special  value  when  they  were  located  and  acquired. 
On  the  contrary,  the  areas  most  suitable  for  park  purposes  are 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities 


137 


often  of  little  value  as  real  estate  when  selected,  although  it 
usually  happens  that  any  property  which  the  city  or  any  great 
corporation  wants  immediately  acquires  enormous  value  in  the 
opinion  of  its  owner.     The  private  corporation  is  usually  able 


Fig.  35. — Showing  the  complete  and  well-distributed  system  of  parks  and 
parkways  in  the  Metropolitan  District  of  Boston.  Reproduced  from  the 
report  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

to  secure  what  it  needs  at  a  fair  market  value  through  agents 
whose  connections  are  unknown  to  the  owners,  but  the  city 
must  conduct  its  business  in  the  limelight,  its  plans  and  pur- 
poses must  be  fully  known  and  discussed  before  an  acre  of  land 
can  be  secured,  and  not  only  will  the  land  needed  to  carry  out 


138  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

these  plans  acquire  new  value  in  the  opinion  of  the  owner,  but 
experts  can  readily  be  found  to  testify  to  such  values.  The  land 
which  in  time  will  make  the  best  parks  will  often  have  been 
passed  over  by  the  real  estate  developer  as  unsuited  to  his 
purposes:  precipitous  hillsides  where  the  cost  of  development 
would  be  prohibitive;  creek  bottoms  and  meadows  which  may 
be  subject  to  periodic  flooding,  wooded  tracts  somewhat  off  the 
existing  lines  of  transit;  marshes  which  may  be  suggestive  of 
malaria  and  mosquitoes — any  or  all  of  these  present  great 
opportunities  for  effective  and  economical  development  into 
parks.  Their  actual  value  is  small,  the  return  from  them  in 
taxes  is  insignificant  and  to  carry  them  until  their  development 
is  needed  will  not  be  a  serious  burden.  It  may  be  apparent 
that  park  areas  will  ultimately  be  needed  in  parts  of  a  city 
which  are  now  in  process  of  development  and  where  values  are 
likely  to  increase  quite  rapidly.  Under  such  circumstances  it 
would  be  quite  feasible  to  acquire  the  land  for  the  purpose  and 
lease  it  for  a  term  of  years  sufficiently  long  to  justify  the  lessee 
in  erecting  such  buildings  as  might  be  required  for  his  purpose, 
the  ground  rental  being  sufficient  to  pay  the  carrying  charges 
and  the  loss  in  taxes  until  such  time  as  the  needs  of  the  neigh- 
borhood make  it  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purpose  for  which 
it  was  originally  bought.  Such  a  course  would  involve  Uttle 
risk  and  would  probably  save  a  substantial  sum  to  the  city 
treasury. 

But  we  should  consider  the  planning  of  a  park  system  as 
well  as  a  transportation  or  a  street  system.  Such  a  system  is 
just  as  much  a  part  of  a  comprehensive  plan  as  are  transporta- 
tion facihties  and  streets.  While  it  is  obviously  impossible  to 
formulate  as  definite  a  plan  for  parks  as  for  streets,  there  must 
be  some  relation  between  them,  not,  perhaps,  an  economic 
relation,  not  even  a  ratio  between  the  total  area  of  parks  and 
the  area  of  the  city,  not  a  maximum  and  minimum  of  size,  nor 
a  relation  between  length  and  breadth,  nor  a  theory  as  to  the 
best  shape.  It  may  be  said  that  in  planning  a  city  the  park 
reservations  should  be  governed  by  the  street  system.     True, 


PLATE  20 


The  boulevard  system   of    San   Francisco.     Reproduced   from   plan   kindly 
furnished  by  Mr,  M.  M.  O'Shaughnessy,  City  Engineer  (p.  139), 


PLATE  21 


The  extensive  system  of  parks  and  connecting  parkways  in  the  Borough  of 
the  Bronx,  New  York.  The  combined  area  of  the  parks  is  15  per  cent  that  of 
the  borough  (p.  139). 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  139 

but  the  streets  should  also  bear  some  relation  to  the  park  system, 
with  due  emphasis  upon  the  word  system.  It  is  not  an  uncom- 
mon practice  to  lay  out  a  street  system  for  the  entire  territory 
to  be  platted  with  the  idea  that,  when  the  time  comes  to  decide 
upon  the  extent  and  location  of  the  parks,  such  streets  as  inter- 
fere with  them  can  be  discontinued,  but  that  at  least  one  entire 
block  here  and  there  will  be  taken  and  in  some  cases  a  group  of 
blocks.  In  other  words,  the  idea  frequently  appears  to  be  that 
while  the  streets  should  be  laid  out  in  accordance  with  the 
topography  and  with  such  foresight  as  is  possible  to  meet  the 
probable  development  of  the  city,  the  parks  can  be  left  for  future 
consideration,  their  location  being  determined  by  expediency 
and  the  needs  of  the  moment. 

If  there  ever  is  to  be  a  real  park  system,  there  must  be  suit- 
able connections  between  the  different  units  of  that  system. 
If  the  street  plan  only  is  made  and  the  parks  are  left  to  chance, 
there  can  be  no  proper  connections  and  consequently  no  park 
system.  Isolated  parks,  with  nothing  but  business  or  heavy 
traffic  streets  between  them,  lose  much  of  their  beauty  and  a 
large  part  of  their  possible  utility,  this  statement,  of  course, 
referring  to  the  chief  parks  of  a  city  which  are  provided  with 
driveways  and  not  to  the  small  neighborhood  parks.  The 
great  beauty  and  value  of  the  park  systems  of  Boston  and 
Kansas  City  and  of  the  series  of  lake  front  parks  of  Chicago 
are  due  in  large  measure  to  the  admirable  system  of  parkways 
which  connect  them  (Fig.  35  and  PL  19).  San  Francisco  has  also 
planned  and  partly  carried  out  a  complete  system  of  boule- 
vards, one  of  which  follows  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  for 
several  miles  (PI.  20).  If  one  had  to  find  his  way  from  one 
park  to  another  through  a  series  of  narrow,  congested  busi- 
ness streets,  or  even  through  residential  streets,  which,  however 
neat  and  attractive  they  may  be,  are  devoid  of  all  park  features, 
the  charm  and  value  of  those  parks  would  be  far  less.  The 
great  parks  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx,  in  New  York  City, 
are  connected  by  an  admirable  system  of  parkways,  one  of  which 
is  600  ft.  wide  and  another  is  400  ft.  wide  but  not  yet  fully 


140  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

developed  (PI.  21),  while  those  of  the  other  boroughs  are  con- 
spicuously lacking  in  such  connections,  although  the  superb 
Riverside  Drive  of  Manhattan  connects  two  parks  which  are 
without  other  drives  than  this,  which  skirts  the  edges  of  both. 
Brooklyn's  one  fine  park  has  parkways  210  ft.  wide  with  three 
roadways  extending  from  two  of  its  sides,  one  of  them  leading 
to  the  ocean  where  it  stops  abruptly  and  the  other  being  lost  in 
a  series  of  business  and  traffic  streets,  while  its  Shore  Road, 
which  rivals  Manhattan's  Riverside  Drive,  must  be  reached 
and  left  through  commonplace  streets  (PL  22).  The  desig- 
nation "  parkway  "  is  often  misleading.  It  might  naturally  be 
assumed  that  a  street  so  named  would  have  some  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  park,  that  it  would  at  least  be  well  planted  with 
trees  and  have  a  roadway  devoted  to  restricted  traffic,  but  this 
is  not  always  the  case.  Because  a  street  or  avenue  leads  from 
one  park  to  another,  or  because  jurisdiction  over  it  is  vested  in 
a  park  department  or  commission,  it  is  not  necessarily  a  parkway 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term.  Parks  should  be  connected  by 
parkways;  they  need  not  be  of  extreme  width,  but  they  should 
have  some  distinguishing  park  features,  so  that  one  leaving  a 
park  by  them  would  know  that  he  is  on  the  right  road  to  an- 
other park.  In  planning  a  system  of  parks,  therefore,  provision 
should  be  made  for  properly  connecting  them.  Experience 
seems  to  show  that  streets  more  than  100  ft.  in  width  rarely 
develop  into  business  thoroughfares,  so  that  if  those  which  are 
to  serve  as  park  connections  are  given  a  width  of  120  to  150 
ft.,  business  will  be  likely  to  avoid  them  and  such  a  width  will 
be  sufficient  to  provide  certain  park  features  when  the  time 
comes  for  their  development. 

The  judicious  selection  of  the  park  areas  will  require  skill 
and  judgment,  and  the  advice  of  a  competent  landscape  engineer 
or  architect  should  be  secured.  To  defer  this  until  the  time 
comes  for  actual  development  is  folly.  Expert  knowledge  as 
to  the  possibiHties  of  the  different  park  sites  is  worth  far  more 
than  skill  in  adapting  an  unsuitable  site  to  the  desired  pur- 
pose.    The  precise  size  and  boundaries  of  a  park  need  not  be 


PLATE  22 


Plan  showing  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn,  the  two  parkways  leading  from  it  and 
the  Shore  Road  which  lacks  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  system  (p.  140). 


PLATE  23 


M8BHl^HHffiK9^BBI^H 

■  -  -v-  ■' 

■•••  _r> 

',   .'''      V- "    ■*■    "' 

a- 
IS 

1^ 

^'^i 

Views  in  the  wild  park  donated  to  the  City  of  Toronto.  Natural  conditions 
have  been  interfered  with  as  little  as  possible.  Reproduced  from  photographs 
supplied  by  courtesy  of  the  Toronto  Park  Department  (p.  141). 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  141 

determined  when  the  land  for  it  is  acquired.  It  could  well  be 
bought  as  acreage  property  and  its  boundaries  may  be  very 
irregular.  When  the  street  system  about  it  is  finally  fixed 
the  park  can  be  trimmed  down  to  such  form  as  is  desired  and 
to  such  size  as  the  locality  will  probably  require.  Some  of  the 
land  which  has  been  acquired  may  be  left  outside  of  the  bound- 
aries finally  decided  upon ;  it  may  be  a  few  building  lots  or  it 
may  be  several  city  blocks.  In  the  latter  case  an  admirable 
site  for  a  school  or  a  library  will  thus  be  provided  which  will 
front  upon  the  park,  or  perhaps  a  block  away  there  will  be  a 
convenient  and  not  too  conspicuous  site  for  a  police  station  or 
a  fire-engine  house.  In  either  case  there  may  be  land  left  which 
can  be  sold  at  such  an  advance  over  its  original  cost  and  carry- 
ing charges  as  will  materially  help  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  park. 
(See  Fig.  24,  p.  107.) 

Glasgow  bought  245  acres  of  land  to  create  its  Queen's 
Park,  which  was  finally  laid  out  to  include  141  acres,  and  the 
remaining  area  is  said  to  have  been  sold  for  residence  sites  for 
a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  entire  cost  of  the  park.  The  crea- 
tion of  a  city  park  system  has  in  some  cases  been  started  by  gifts 
of  land  for  such  purposes.  Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  in  his  book  on 
"  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,"  says  that  Bir- 
mingham had  no  public  parks  until  1856,  when  a  ten-acre  park 
was  presented  to  the  city  and  another  of  31  acres  was  given 
the  following  year.  In  1864,  the  city  bought  50  acres  for  parks 
and,  in  1873,  still  another  park  of  60  acres  was  presented  to  the 
Municipal  Corporation.  In  1863,  a  tract  of  165  acres  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  was  given  to  Toronto  for  a  public  park  by 
one  of  her  public-spirited  citizens,  and  to  this  the  city  has  added 
an  equal  area  by  purchase.  This  is  still  a  wild  park  possessing 
many  picturesque  features  (PI.  23).  One  of  New  York's 
parks  was  given  by  two  ladies  as  a  memorial  to  their  father, 
and  while  its  area  is  but  a  little  over  nine  acres,  it  had  an 
assessed  value  when  presented  of  more  than  $600,000. 

Some  of  London's  great  parks,  such  as  Hyde,  St.  James,  and 
Green  Parks,  Hampton  Court  and  Kew  Gardens  are  appur- 


142  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

tenances  of  the  Crown,  but  they  are  as  fully  open  to  the  public 
as  those  which  have  been  acquired  at  the  city's  expense.  Dr. 
Shaw  says  that  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  was  part  of  an  ancient 
forest  owned  by  the  state  and  was  granted  to  the  city  of  Paris 
in  1852  on  condition  that  it  be  improved  as  a  modern  park,  and 
of  the  14,000,000  francs  expended  upon  its  improvement  a 
large  part  has  been  recouped.  The  Bois  de  Vincennes  was  also 
acquired  from  the  state,  which  consented  to  the  sale  by  the  city 
of  a  portion  of  the  area,  by  which  means  more  than  half  of  the 
24,000,000  francs  expended  in  its  development  as  a  park  was 
recovered. 

While  topographical  features  should  to  a  large  degree  con- 
trol the  selection  of  the  park  areas  of  a  city  their  general  arrange- 
ment and  their  location  with  respect  to  each  other  should 
receive  careful  study.  Every  city  of  considerable  size  has  one 
or  more  large  parks,  sometimes  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  if 
it  was  acquired  at  an  early  date;  often  on  the  city's  outer  edge. 
London  has  its  Hyde  Park  of  364  acres  and  Kensington  Gardens 
with  274  acres,  both  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  Epping  Forest 
in  Essex  with  an  area  of  5560  acres.  Paris  has  its  Bois  de 
Boulogne  with  over  2100  acres  on  the  west  and  the  Bois  de 
Vincennes  about  2300  acres  in  extent  on  the  east.  Berlin  has  its 
Tiergarten  of  630  acres,  which,  though  the  private  property  of 
the  Crown,  is  a  pubHc  park,  as  is  also  the  Royal  Forest  of  the 
Grunewald,  covering  11,350  acres  a  Httle  further  out  on  the  way 
to  Potsdam.  Vienna  has  its  Prater  Gardens  of  1500  acres; 
Dublin  its  Phoenix  Park,  nearly  2000  acres  in  extent.  Buda- 
pest has  in  the  Stadtwaldchen  a  tract  of  about  1000  acres, 
while  Margareta  Island  in  the  Danube,  nearly  two  miles  long 
and  one-half  mile  wide,  once  the  property  of  the  city  but  given 
to  one  of  the  archdukes  some  half  a  century  ago  as  a  hunting 
ground,  is  kept  in  beautiful  condition  and  is  open  to  the  public 
as  a  pleasure  ground.  New  York  has  its  Central  Park  of  862 
acres  in  Manhattan  and  its  Prospect  Park  of  575  acres  in  Brook- 
lyn, both  in  the  densely  built  parts  of  the  city,  and  its  Pelham 
Bay  and  Van  Cortlandt  Parks  with  a  combined  area  of  2888  acres 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  143 

along  its  northerly  boundary.  Philadelphia  has  its  Fairmount 
Park  of  3316  acres,  almost  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Boston 
has  its  Blue  Hills  Reservation  of  4906  acres,  its  Middlesex 
Fells  of  1898  acres,  and  its  Lynn  Woods,  almost  as  large,  all 
outside  of  the  city  limits  but  within  the  metropolitan  district. 

It  appears  that  a  number  of  cities  have  with  admirable  fore- 
sight gone  some  distance  beyond  the  city  Hmits  for  playgrounds 
for  their  people.  In  these  projects  the  State  or  even  the  National 
government  may  co-operate  with  the  city  or  undertake  im- 
provements which  will  supplement  those  of  the  city.  New 
York  City  and  Westchester  County  have  jointly  undertaken 
to  preserve  the  natural  beauty  of  the  Bronx  River  by  building 
the  Bronx  River  Parkway  which  will  extend  from  Bronx  Park 
to  the  new  Kensico  Reservoir,  a  distance  of  15  miles.  The 
cHmax  of  a  beautiful  drive  will  be  reached  below  the  great 
dam  at  the  reservoir,  where  the  grounds  will  be  treated  as  a 
park  (PI.  24).  Some  of  the  attractive  bits  of  the  Bronx  River 
will  thus  be  preserved  (PI.  25). 

Essex  County  in  New  Jersey,  which  includes  within  its  limits 
a  number  of  populous  towns,  has  established  a  system  of  13 
parks  covering  an  area  of  3206  acres,  one  of  the  park  units 
containing  nearly  2000  acres.  The  system  includes  athletic 
fields,  playgrounds,  golf  links  and  lakes  for  boating  and  skating, 
and  more  than  $6,000,000  has  been  expended  in  its  development. 
The  States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  are  co-operating  in 
the  development  of  the  PaHsades  Interstate  Park.  This 
movement  originated  in  an  effort  to  preserve  the  picturesque 
features  of  the  palisades  along  the  westerly  bank  of  the  Hudson 
River  opposite  the  northerly  part  of  New  York  City  and  the 
adjacent  towns  in  Westchester  County.  The  project  has 
assumed  much  greater  importance  and  a  larger  scope  through 
the  gift  by  Mrs.  E.  H.  Harriman  of  a  tract  of  some  10,000 
acres.  The  present  extent  of  the  system,  which  includes  18,000 
acres,  is  indicated  by  Fig.  36.  This  great  system  of  parks  is  so 
near  New  York  and  the  neighboring  cities  in  New  Jersey  that 
it  may  be  considered  as  part  of  their  recreation  grounds. 


144 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


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Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  145 

A  very  remarkable  national  park,  so  near. to  centers  of  popu- 
lation that  it  can  be  made  readily  accessible  to  the  people,  is 
Strathcona  Park  on  Vancouver  Island.  It  covers  an  area 
of  532,000  acres  in  the  central  part  of  the  island.  It  is  still 
in  large  part  unexplored,  owing  to  its  very  rugged  character. 
It  has  within  its  limits  forests,  rivers,  waterfalls,  canyons, 
glaciers  and  snow-capped  mountains,  while  fish  and  game  are 
plentiful.  Facilities  of  access  to  it  are  now  very  meager,  but, 
when  they  are  supplied,  it  can  readily  be  reached  from  the  cities 
of  Victoria  and  Vancouver  and  even  from  the  towns  along 
Puget  Sound  in  the  State  of  Washington. 

One  of  the  recent  park  improvements  carried  out  by  the  city 
of  Boston  is  as  unusual  as  it  is  admirable,  namely,  the  creation 
of  the  Charles  River  Basin.  Insanitary  conditions  are  often 
remedied  through  the  costly  process  of  buying  up  the  blighted 
areas,  razing  the  buildings  and  converting  the  space  occupied 
by  them  to  some  public  use,  but  in  this  instance  the  same  end 
was  achieved,  not  by  destroying  improvements,  but  by  creating 
something  new  on  property  which  was  previously  unused  and 
useless.  The  Charles  River  was  a  tidal  stream  the  shores  of 
which,  though  bordering  some  of  the  best  parts  of  Boston  on 
the  one  side  and  of  Cambridge  on  the  other,  were  unsightly 
and  unwholesome,  especially  at  low  tide.  By  the  building  of 
a  dam  across  the  river  with  a  lock  to  accommodate  boats,  the 
construction  of  quay  waUs  and  filling  in  behind  them  and  pro- 
viding walks  and  drives  on  the  reclaimed  land  the  shores  of 
the  river  have  been  converted  into  rare  beauty  spots  and  the 
stream  itself  has  become  an  attractive  fresh-water  lake.  The 
conditions  which  prevailed  before  the  improvement  was  under- 
taken and  the  radical  change  which  has  been  brought  about 
are  indicated  by  the  illustrations  (PI.  26). 

While  these  parks  are  invaluable,  many  of  the  poor  people 
cannot  afford  even  the  small  fare  to  reach  them,  and  it  is  the 
smaller  neighborhood  parks  that  really  count  for  most  in  the 
everj'day  life  of  the  masses  of  the  people.  These  small  parks 
should  be  so  located  that  one  of  them  is  within  easy  walking 


146  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

distance  of  every  part  of  the  city.  Mr.  John  A.  Brodie,  the  City 
Engineer  of  Liverpool,  has  suggested  that  in  planning  a  system 
of  parks  they  should  be  carried  out  radially  from  the  center  of 
the  city  somewhat  in  advance  of  its  development,  while  in 
large  cities  wide  streets  can  be  combined  with  open  spaces 
which  will  practically  become  part  of  the  park  system  of  the 
town,  giving  a  result  far  better  than  the  old-fashioned  plan  of 
a  number  of  blocks  dotted  irregularly  about  the  city.^  Dr. 
Werner  Hegeman  of  BerHn,  points  out  that  such  a  radial  system 
of  parks  and  boulevards  will  provide  "a  broadcast  fresh-air 
drainage  for  the  whole  city." 

While  parks  are  becoming  more  and  more  used  as  play- 
grounds rather  than  places  for  the  exhibition  of  the  skill  of  the 
landscape  artist,  while  warnings  to  "  keep  off  the  grass  "  are 
much  less  frequent,  there  is  still  a  need  of  quiet  resting  places 
for  those  who  cannot  indulge  in  active  play.  The  athletic 
field  and  the  well-organized  playground  should  not  take  the 
place  of  the  neighborhood  park,  but  is  a  separate  and  distinct 
need.  These  playgrounds  are  a  quite  recent  development  and 
their  scientific  organization  and  management  has  become  almost 
a  distinct  profession.  Perhaps  there  is  a  disposition  to  exag- 
gerate the  value  of  the  playground  and  substitute  it  for  the  park 
instead  of  making  it  supplemental  thereto..  As  Mr.  George  E. 
Kessler,  Landscape  Architect  of  the  Kansas  City  Park  System, 
says:  "  The  average  playground  enthusiast  understands  the 
term  only  as  apphed  to  a  group  of  swings,  slides  and  all  the  other 
forms  of  violent  exercise,  disregarding  almost  entirely  the  value 
of  natural  beauty  as  an  inducement  to  enjoy  outdoor  recreation 
in  surroundings  that  appeal  to  and  educate  the  growing  child." 

Chicago  appears  to  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  development 
and  administration  of  its  playgrounds  and  athletic  fields,  the 
former  being  intimately  related  to  the  pubHc  schools.  The 
beneficial  results  of  such  provision  for  recreation  and  the  general 
principles  governing  the  distribution  of  the  different  units  are 
outlined  by  Mr.  E.  H.  Bennett  as  follows: 

'  London  Town  Planning  Conference,  lyio,  page  23S. 


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Typical  views  of  the  Bronx  River,  New  Yorli,  which  will  be  preserved  by 
the  creation  of  the  Bronx  River  Parkway.  Reproduced  from  photographs  kindly 
furnished  by  the  Bronx  River  Parkway  Commission  (p.  143). 


Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities  147 

Police  records  show  an  extraordinary  decrease  of  youthful  crimes  in 
the  neighborhood  of  playground  parks.  Already  in  Chicago,  with  these 
parks  only  a  few  years  old,  the  new  houses  in  their  vicinity  are  showing  a 
marked  improvement  over  the  old. 

The  location  and  apportioning  of  these  playgrounds  is  a  study  in 
itself  and  is  fast  becoming  an  exact  science.  The  fundamental  point  of 
view  taken  is  that  parks  should  be  brought  to  the  people  rather  than  the 
people  to  the  parks;  that  the  large  investment  in  pubhc  schools  should 
be  utiUzed  to  its  limit,  and  that  the  development  of  the  playground  system 
should  progress  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  with  the  development  of 
the  schools.  It  is  found  that  in  most  cities  the  schools  are  concentrated 
where  the  population  is  densest.  From  observations  of  small  playgrounds 
already  built  it  is  found  that  a  good  arrangement  of  play  and  gymnasium 
apparatus  can  be  placed  on  one  and  a  half  or  two-acre  plots  and  with  a 
proper  arrangement  of  play  periods  about  700  to  1000  children  can  be 
accommodated  per  acre.  With  these  points  in  mind  as  a  basis  of  discussion, 
a  minimum  of  two  acres  was  adopted  as  a  reasonable  figure  for  a  playground, 
and  at,  or  around,  each  school  a  plot  was  placed  on  the  basis  of  700  to  1000 
children  per  acre.  These  open  spaces  and  the  actual  school  building  should 
be  used  to  a  large  extent  as  a  recreation  and  social  center  in  the  evenings. 
In  this  way  large  numbers  of  working  people  can  be  served  with  social 
activities. 

In  order  to  provide  athletic  facilities  for  the  older  children  and  the 
working  population,  it  was  decided,  after  observation  and  study  of  such 
athletic  fields  as  have  been  developed,  that  fifteen  to  twenty  acres  should 
be  the  minimum  unit.  These  should  be  reasonably  close  together,  not 
more  than  two  mUes  apart,  so  that  no  person  would  find  it  a  hardship  to 
get  to  them  after  working  hours  or  on  Saturday  or  Sunday.  At  each  of 
these  large  athletic  centers  there  will  be  developed  swimming  and  gym- 
nasium facilities,  together  with  branch  libraries,  auditorium  and  all  other 
social  necessities  which  go  to  complete  and  fill  in  the  leisure  time  of  the 
working  people.  These  facilities  should  be  provided  for  both  men  and 
women.* 

While  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  establishment  of  a  park 
will  result  in  benefit  to  the  neighborhood  in  which  it  is  located  and 
that  at  least  a  portion  of  the  cost  of  its  acquisition  can  with  jus- 
tice be  assessed  upon  the  district,  this  is  not  the  case  with  respect 
to  playgrounds.     They  are  necessarily  somewhat  noisy,  and  the 

1  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  Chicago,  1913, 
pages  101-103. 


148  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

benefit  resulting  from  their  establishment  will  extend  rather  to 
the  property  which  is  far  enough  away  to  be  free  from  the  noise, 
but  near  enough  to  render  them  readily  accessible.  To  assess 
the  cost  of  acquiring  land  for  playgrounds  in  the  same  manner 
as  in  the  case  of  parks — that  is,  by  a  graduated  assessment  with 
the  highest  rate  on  frontage,  would,  therefore,  involve  some 
injustice.  The  method  followed  in  a  recent  case  in  Brooklyn 
was  due  to  this  consideration.  Mrs.  Betsey  Head,  who  died  in 
1907,  left  a  legacy  of  nearly  $190,000  to  the  City  of  New  York 
for  playground  purposes.  There  were  many  applications  for 
the  expenditure  of  all  or  a  portion  of  these  funds  by  the  pur- 
chase and  development  of  sites  in  different  locahties,  but  the 
municipal  authorities  decided  that  it  should  be  devoted  to 
the  improvement  and  equipment  of  playgrounds  rather  than 
to  their  acquisition.  The  citizens  of  an  especially  congested 
district  proposed  that  the  city  acquire  four  blocks  and  assess 
the  cost  of  so  doing  at  a  flat  rate  over  a  district  of  such  size 
that  the  expense  would  be  about  $10  for  each  lot  unit  of 
2000  sq.  ft.  This  was  done,  the  area  of  assessment  being  made 
approximately  circular  in  form  with  a  diameter  of  about  2  miles. 
Three  of  the  blocks  are  to  be  devoted  to  an  athletic  field,  base- 
ball and  football  grounds,  swimming  pool,  etc.,  for  larger 
children  and  grown  people,  while  the  fourth  block  is  to  be  set 
aside  as  a  recreation  ground  for  mothers  and  small  children. 

While  much  more  space  could  be  devoted  to  the  subject 
of  scientifically  organized  play,  it  is  more  nearly  related  to 
city  administration  than  to  city  planning,  and  will  not  be  further 
discussed,  except  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  keeping  in  mind 
the  need  of  provision  for  it  when  working  out  a  general  plan. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PUBLIC  BUILDINGS   AND   CIVIC   CENTERS 

TN  considering  the  subject  of  public  buildings  and  their  loca- 
■*■  tion,  the  words  "  public  buildings  "  will  be  so  broadly  con- 
strued as  to  include  not  only  those  in  which  the  business  of  the 
nation,  the  state  or  the  city  may  be  conducted  and  such  build- 
ings as  public  hbraries,  museums,  etc.,  which  are  frequented  by 
the  public,  but  they  also  will  include  buildings  constructed  and 
maintained  for  the  exercise  of  any  of  the  functions  performed 
by  any  public  authority,  such  as  schools,  penal  and  charitable 
institutions,  markets,  hospitals,  poHce  and  fire  houses,  baths, 
structures  connected  with  water  supply  and  drainage  and  even 
bridges  and  monuments.  They  will  also  include  churches  and 
buildings  used  for  amusement  and  entertainment  under  private 
as  well  as  pubUc  management,  and  the  various  buildings  and 
plants,  many  of  which  in  European  countries  are  maintained 
by  the  pubHc  authorities,  but  which  in  America  are  commonly 
left  to  public-service  corporations,  among  these  last  being  rail- 
way stations  and  terminals,  Hghting  and  heating  plants,  finan- 
cial institutions,  etc.  The  recent  efforts  to  so  group  important 
public  buildings  as  to  form  effective  civic  centers,  while  worthy 
of  a  separate  chapter,  will  also  be  treated  in  this  connection. 

In  ancient  cities  individual  dwelhngs  were  modest  and  un- 
pretentious, while  pubHc  buildings  were  dignified  and  beautiful. 
Palaces  and  castles,  the  abodes  of  reigning  princes  or  their 
representatives,  typified  the  power  and  dignity  of  the  state, 
and  nothing  was  too  costly,  no  scale  was  too  great  to  impress 
the  people  with  their  power  and  grandeur.  The  cities  were 
rich  and  powerful  and  their  buildings  were  planned  and  adorned 
for  the  purpose  of  impressing  their  citizens  and  those  of  other 

149 


150  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

cities  with  their  power  and  dignity.  Churches  and  cathedrals 
were  the  expression  of  the  devotional  spirit  of  the  people,  and 
their  wealth  or  their  labor  were  lavished  on  these  structures, 
whether  reHgious  enthusiasm,  superstition  or  fear  of  ecclesi- 
astical tyranny  may  have  prompted  their  giving.  The  power- 
ful guilds  built  houses  of  beauty,  and  these  were  commonly 
grouped  about  "  places  "  dominated  by  the  Rathaus  or  the 
Hotel  de  Ville  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  a  charming  and 
dignified  effect.  In  modem  cities,  especially  in  America,  show 
places  are  usually  the  homes  of  the  merchant  prince,  the  success- 
ful patent-medicine  man,  or  those  who  have  suddenly  achieved 
fortune  or  local  fame.  In  some  cases  these  fortunate  individuals 
have  made  an  effort  to  perpetuate  their  memories  and  win 
the  gratitude  of  their  fellow-townsmen  by  building,  and  some- 
times generously  endowing,  some  semi-public  institution,  while 
in  others  the  manifestation  of  their  public  spirit  has  taken  the 
form  of  a  more  personal  memorial,  such  as  a  statue  or  fountain. 
In  every  case  there  is  quite  sure  to  be  a  tablet  or  inscription 
reminding  the  public  of  the  donor.  Limitations  imposed  by 
the  giver  concerning  the  site  or  the  treatment  are  frequently 
the  despair  of  the  architect  or  sculptor  charged  with  responsi- 
bility for  the  design. 

There  has  lately  been  an  awakening  to  the  importance  of 
the  better  design  and  grouping  of  such  buildings,  and  a  number 
of  plans  have  been  made  for  such  grouping,  especially  in  the 
United  States,  many  of  which  attain  a  degree  of  imposing 
dignity  and  even  grandeur  which  at  least  equal  anything  here- 
tofore accomplished.  The  greatest  impetus  in  this  direction 
was  probably  the  object  lesson  given  by  the  wonderfully  effective 
arrangement  of  the  principal  buildings  of  the  Chicago  Exposi- 
tion of  1893,  which,  as  already  noted,  gave  great  stimulus  to 
the  modern  city-planning  movement,  if,  indeed,  it  did  not  start 
the  movement,  at  least  in  America. 

Some  fine  pubUc  buildings,  admirably  located,  were  to  be 
found  in  the  United  States  before  this  new  interest  developed, 
notable  instances  of  which  are  the  National  Capitol  at  Wash- 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  151 

ington  and  the  City  Hall  in  New  York.  The  foimer  was  located 
in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  I'Enfant,  but  other  public  build- 
ings, many  of  very  poor  design,  were  placed  in  a  haphazard 
fashion  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  apparently  wherever  a  site 
to  accommodate  them  could  be  acquired,  and  it  is  only  within 
the  last  decade  that  a  comprehensive  scheme  for  their  location 
has  been  worked  out  under  the  direction  of  a  Congressional 
committee  and  the  Fine  Arts  Commission,  and  it  is  gratifying 
to  note  that  this  plan  follows  quite  closely  the  original  I'Enfant 
scheme  (Pis.  27-  and  28).  It  is  fortunate  also  that  a  much 
higher  standard  of  architectural  design  for  public  buildings  had 
been  developed  before  this  rearrangement  was  undertaken.  In 
the  case  of  the  New  York  City  Hall,  this  admirable  two-story 
building  was  erected  during  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century  in  a  triangular  park,  which  has  lately  become  an  oasis 
in  a  district  fast  being  given  over  to  skyscrapers.  The  munici- 
pal authorities  fooHshly  permitted  the  United  States  Post-ofhce 
to  be  erected  at  the  apex  of  this  triangle,  and  then  built  a  large 
court  house  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall.  Both  of  these 
buildings  are  of  poor  design  and,  while  the  City  Hall  itself  has  been 
jealously  preserved,  its  setting  has  been  spoiled.  Efforts  are 
now  being  made  to  secure  the  removal  of  the  Post-office  building, 
while  a  new  court  house  on  a  different  site  is  about  to  be  built, 
and  it  seems  likely  that  this  little  park  will  be  restored  to  its 
original  purpose,  a  fitting  site  for  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the 
very  best,  city  hall  in  the  United  States. 

While  important  public  buildings  in  Continental  Europe  are 
generally  of  good  design  and  occupy  interesting  and  picturesque 
sites,  the  average  buildings  of  this  kind  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  have  been  of  inferior  design  and  are  poorly  located. 
In  the  case  of  the  Romer,  of  Frankfort,  additional  units  of  a  design 
harmonizing  with  the  ancient  building  have  been  added  from 
time  to  time  to  meet  the  need  of  more  space,  and  the  result  is 
admirable.  Such  buildings  have  been  better  designed  in  recent 
years,  but  the  gridiron  plan  of  most  cities  in  the  western  world 
does  not  permit  them  to  be  seen  to  advantage. 


152 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


C     Oh 
O     rt 


to 

.g 


Where  a  city  occupies 
level  ground,  monumental 
buildings  can  only  be  seen 
to  advantage  if  they  are 
approached  by  streets  of 
adequate  width  affording 
a  view  of  them  from  a 
distance.  Where  the  site 
is  hilly  or  undulating  such 
buildings  should,  if  pos- 
sible, be  placed  at  the 
grade  summits.  Fig.  37 
shows  the  great  advantage 
of  such  a  location  and  the 
unfortunate  effect  of  mis- 
placing a  monumental 
structure  with  respect  to 
the  grades  of  the  ap- 
proaches to  it.  An  admir- 
able example  of  an  advan- 
tageous location  is  that  of 
the  Arc  de  Triomphe  in 
Paris  at  the  summit  of  a 
hill  with  twelve  avenues 
leading  to  it,  while  the 
Chateau  at  Versailles, 
which  is  so  far  back  of  the 
grade  summit  that  only  the 
upper  part  of  the  building 
can  be  seen  by  one  ap- 
proaching it  from  the  gar- 
dens, is  obviously  mis- 
placed. The  great  Palais 
de  Justice  in  Brussels  oc- 
cupies a  commanding  site 
on  a  hill  and  can  be  seen 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  153 

from  nearly  all  parts  of  the  city,  although  there  are  no 
great  avenues  leading  directly  to  it.  The  water  front  some- 
times affords  an  excellent  site  for  a  public  building  in  cases 
where  a  purely  commercial  development  does  not  crowd  too 
closely  upon  it.  A  good  example  is  the  Palace  Monroe  at 
one  end  of  the  water-front  boulevard  at  Rio  de  Janeiro 
(PI.  29).  At  Albany,  N.  Y.,  a  railroad  company  has  erected 
an  ofl5ce  building  with  a  freight  station  adjoining  it  along  the 
river  front  in  such  a  position  that  the  tower  surmounting  it, 
the  design  of  which  is  suggestive  of  the  Dutch  settlement  of 
the  town,  is  on  the  axis  of  the  broad  street  leading  from  the 
State  Capitol  building,  and  the  impression  given  to  one  entering 
the  city  from  across  the  river  is  very  pleasing  (PI.  29).  While 
it  is  not  a  building,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  refer  in  this 
connection  to  the  Bruhle  Terrace  in  Dresden,  a  sort  of  grand- 
stand overlooking  the  river,  which,  as  elsewhere  noted,  has  been 
called  "  the  Balcony  of  Europe." 

The  huge  City  Hall  of  Philadelphia  is  486  ft.  6  in.  long  and 
470  ft.  wide,  with  an  inner  court  220  by  200  feet,  and  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $18,000,000,  exclusive  of  fittings 
and  furnishings.  The  centers  of  each  of  the  four  sides  are 
pierced  by  arches  18  ft.  wide  and  36  ft.  high,  affording  access  for 
pedestrians  to  and  across  the  central  court  on  the  Unes  of  the 
two  intersecting  streets  which  lead  directly  to  it.  It  is  located 
on  the  axes  of  Broad  and  Market  streets,  the  former  113  ft.  and 
the  latter  100  ft.  in  width  and,  while  portions  of  the  facades  can 
be  seen  from  great  distances  on  these  streets,  the  remainder  of 
the  structure  is  surrounded  by  large  buildings  grouped  closely 
about  it,  one  of  which  is  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station. 
A  great  parkway  is  now  being  constructed  which  will  approach. 
the  City  Hall  obliquely,  its  axis  passing  directly  through  the 
Penn  statue,  which  surmounts  the  great  tower  of  the  building, 
rising  to  a  height  of  584  ft.  above  the  level  of  the  sidewalk  (PI.  44). 

The  new  Public  Library  building  of  New  York,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  about  $10,000,000,  occupies  one  end  of  a  small  park, 
with  a  frontage   of  460  ft.  on  Fifth   avenue,  and  its  beautiful 


154 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


fagade  can  nowhere  be  seen  to  advantage.  The  illustration  on 
PI.  30  shows  the  best  view  of  this  building  which  is  obtainable, 
and  it  is  obvious  what  has  been  lost  through  this  poor  location. 
Had  a    Httle  more  of  the  park   been   given  up  to  this  monu- 


E.       45th 


Eighth 


PENNSYLVANIA 

R.  R. 

STATION 


GRAND 
CENTRAL 
f  STATION 


42nd 


Seventh 


Ave. 


JFiG.  38. — Showing  the  location  of  the 
Pennsylvania  R.R.  Station  and  the 
new  Post  Ofl&ce,  New  York,  with 
respect  to  the  street  system. 


Fig.  39. — Showing  the  location  of 
the  Grand  Central  Station,  New 
York,  with  respect  to  the  street 
system. 


mental  building,  so  that  it  could  have  been  set  back  even 
100  ft.  further  from  the  line  of  Fifth  avenue,  it  would  have  been 
much  more  effective. 

In  Continental  Europe,  especially  in  Germany,  the  important 
railway  stations  are  treated  as  gateways  to  the  cities  and  front 


PLATE  26 


Views  of  the  Charles  River  water  front  of  Boston  before  and  after  the 
creation  of  the  Charles  River  basin.  Reproduced  from  photographs  kindly 
furnished  by  Mr.  Hiram  A.  Miller,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Improvement  (p   145) 


PLATE  27 


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PLATE  28 


PLATE  29 


The  Monroe  Palace  on  the  water  front  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.     Reproduced  from  a 
photograph  kindly  furnished  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Corthell  (p.  153). 


Office  building  and  freight  house   of   the  Delaware  and  Hudson  R.R.  Co.,  on 
the  river  front  at  Albany,  N.  Y.  (p.  153). 


PLATE  30 


The  New  York  Public  Library  at  night;  a  very  beautiful  and  costly  build- 
ing which  cannot  be  seen  to  advantage  owing  to  the  rectangular  street  system. 
The  lower  view  shows  the  effectiveness  of  the  indirect  lighting  of  a  fountain  in 
front  of  the  building.  Both  are  reproduced  from  photographs  kindly  furnished 
by  the  New  York  Edison  Co.  (p.  154). 


PLATE  31 


S  < 


<u  O 


-a 


'V 

o 

-a 

M 

t-H' 

c 

(i 

.g 

'^ 

<u 

tfi 

ei 

^ 

f- 

pi 

a  u 


w 


o 


^  a 


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H  K 


PLATE  32 


^^I^^^^^HH^^^^^^H^lH^^l^^^^Hn      ^^^^^^^^^ 

Two  Views  of  the  Grand  Central  Terminal  after  reconstruction  and  the 
abandonment  of  steam  operation.  The  upper  view  is  take,n  from  almost  the  same 
point  as  that  shown  on  PI.  31  (p.  155). 


PLATE  33 


u> 


&H    -t3 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  155 

upon  generous  open  spaces,  while  the  railway  terminals  of  Lon- 
don, New  York,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  and  other  British  and 
American  cities  are  usually  so  hedged  about  by  solid  blocks  of 
buildings  that  no  satisfying  view  of  them  can  be  obtained.  Even 
the  beautiful  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station  in  New  York,  oc- 
cupying two  city  blocks  and  what  was  formerly  an  intervening 
street,  with  an  area  of  more  than  eight  and  one-third  acres, 
cannot  be  appreciated  (Fig.  38).  The  new  Grand  Central 
Terminal  of  the  New  York  Central  Lines  is  more  fortunately 
located  in  that  it  is  centrally  placed  with  respect  to  the  axis 
of  Park  avenue,  140  ft.  wide,  and  the  central  part  of  the  prin- 
cipal facade,  crowned  by  a  large  piece  of  sculpture  typifying 
Transportation,  can  be  seen  from  a  long  distance  down  this 
avenue  (Fig.  39).  This  station  affords  a  striking  example  of 
the  effect  of  electrical  operation  upon  railway  terminals.  When 
operated  by  steam  it  was  a  noisy,  unsightly  intrusion  into  one 
of  the  busiest  and  most  attractive  parts  of  the  city.  The 
locomotives  of  arriving  and  departing  trains  and  those  used 
for  switching  constantly  emitted  smoke  and  steam  and  occupied 
a  space  some  350  ft.  in  width  at  its  southerly  end,  while  eleven 
cross  streets  and  one  important  avenue  were  interrupted  by  it, 
causing  long  detours  to  traffic  and  effectually  separating  the 
districts  on  either  side,  so  that  movements  of  the  police  and 
fire-fighting  forces  from  one  side  to  the  other  were  greatly  in- 
terfered with.  When  electricity  was  substituted  for  steam  as 
motive  power,  the  tracks  were  depressed,  so  that  all  of  the  inter- 
rupted streets  were  carried  over  them  with  grades  that  in  no 
place  exceeded  four  per  cent,  and  these  but  for  short  distances, 
while  the  terminal  was  at  the  same  time  greatly  enlarged,  its 
width  being  increased  to  817  ft.,  and  provision  was  made  for 
the  accommodation  of  local  trains  below  the  main  track  level. 
The  contrast  between  the  old  and  the  new  conditions  is  shown 
by  the  views  (Pis.  31,  32,  33  and  34),  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
tracks  is  indicated  by  Figs.  40  and  41.  When  this  improvement 
was  commenced  the  full  possibility  of  using  the  space  above 
an    electrically  operated  terminal  was  not  realized.      Several 


156 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


Fig.  40. — Plan  of  the  upper  or  express  track  level  of  the  Grand  Central  Ter- 
minal, New  York.  This  and  Fig.  41  are  reproduced  from  plans  furnished  by 
the  N.  Y.  Central  R.R.  Co. 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers 


157 


Fig.  41. — Plan  of   the   lower  or  suburban  track  level  of  the  Grand  Central 
Terminal,  New  York. 


158  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

large  and  important  buildings  have  already  been  erected  over  the 
tracks,  and  it  is  now  apparent  that  all  of  this  enormously  valu- 
able space  over  what  was  formerly  a  railway  yard  in  the  very 
heart  of  a  great  city  will  be  available  for  profitable  use,  and 
that  the  revenue  derived  from  it  will  go  far  toward  meeting  the 
interest  on  the  immense  cost  of  this  undertaking,  which,  with 
the  station  building  itself,  has  considerably  exceeded  $50,000,000. 
Park  avenue  is  to  be  carried  around  the  station  building  on  an 
elevated  platform,  so  that  its  central  portion  can  pass  over  Forty- 
second  street  with  a  separation  of  grades  on  two  very  busy  thor- 
oughfares. With  an  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  a  digni- 
fied treatment  in  the  vicinity  of  this  terminal  not  often  recog- 
nized by  railway  corporations,  this  company  has  declared  its 
intention  of  restricting  the  height  of  the  fronts  of  the  buildings 
over  its  tracks  along  Park  avenue  north  of  the  station  to  a 
height  corresponding  with  the  cornice  line  of  the  station  build- 
ing itself,  so  that  this  portion  of  the  avenue  is  destined  to  become 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  dignified  streets  to  be  found  in 
this  or  any  other  city.  The  Union  Railway  Station  in  Washing- 
ton (PI.  35  and  Fig.  42)  is  not  only  a  very  beautiful  building,  but  it 
fronts  upon  an  open  space  larger  than  any  other  "  station  place  " 
known  to  the  author  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  capitol  build- 
ing. The  location  of  the  great  railway  station  of  St.  Louis 
(PI.  35),  surrounded  by  narrow  streets,  suffers  greatly  by  com- 
parison, as  do  the  railway  stations  of  Chicago,  including  even 
the  latest  and  finest — that  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Railway.  Loudon's  great  railway  terminals  are  inadequately 
provided  with  approaches,  and  have  no  open  spaces  worthy  of 
the  name  in  front  of  them.  The  Liverpool  Street  Station, 
through  which  it  is  said  that  more  people  pass  daily  than  through 
any  other  railway  terminal,  is  particularly  ill-provided  with 
spaces  about  or  approaches  to  it.  In  Edinburgh,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  two  great  stations,  the  North  British  and  the  Cale- 
donia, are  located  one  at  each  end  of  the  beautiful  gardens  along 
Princes  street.  The  British  and  some  of  the  Continental  sta- 
tions have  their  ugliness  screened  by  the  railway  hotels  owned 


PLATE  34 


u 


o 


p^ 


PLATE  35 


The  Union  Railway  Station  at  Washington,  admirably  located  as  one  of  a 
group  of  great  public  buildings.     See  Fig.  42  (p.  158). 


The  Union  Station  at  St.  Louis;    a  large  and  handsome  structure,  so  shut  in 
by  surrounding  buildings  that  no  satisfactory  view  of  it  can  be  obtained  (p,  158). 


160 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


and  operated  by  the  companies,  although  behind  them  are  to 
be  found  the  inevitable  train  sheds,  with  their  smoke  and 
noise.  Many  of  the  German  cities  have  erected  large  and 
handsome  railway  stations  and  have  provided  liberal  open 
spaces  in  front  of  them  from  which  broad  avenues  radiate,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  station  at  Frankfort,  shown  by  Fig.  43.  The 
principal  railway  station  of  Antwerp  has  an  admirable  location 
I         I  II       and  is  approached  by  one  of 

I J     „||i|l||||||||||l|j|||||||       I IL     the  most  important  streets  in 

the  city,  but  the  design  of 
the  station  building  has  been 
somewhat  savagely  criticised 
by  Mr.  Rey,  who  expresses 
his  amazement  at  the  blunder 
committed  by  the  city  in 
building  what  he  calls  a  great 
"Palace  of  Smoke."  He  says 
that  "no  excuse  can  be  found 
for  its  colossal  arches,  which 
serve  no  purpose  and  are 
merely  the  result  of  fanciful 
calculations  on  the  part  of 
the  engineer.  ...  It  is 
ridiculous  to  erect  gigantic  arches  in  grotesque  imitation  of 
cathedral  naves  for  the  purpose  of  sheltering  trains  which,  after 
all,  consist  of  coaches  and  engines  of  a  size  proportionate  to 
human  beings,  and  for  which  simply  covered  platforms  would 
amply  suffice.  No  reasoning,  no  aesthetic  beauty  can  excuse 
such  methods  unless  it  be  the  pleasure  of  wasting  the  re- 
sources of  the  State  and  of  the  municipalities."  ^ 

There  has  been  much  criticism  of  the  high  buildings  so  fre- 
quently in  evidence  in  American  cities,  and  these  structures 
have  been  erected  almost  exclusively  as  ofiice  buildings  or  by 
individuals  or  corporations  in  the  belief  or  hope  that  they  would 
be  commercially  profitable  or  would  at  least  have  suflficient 

^  Proceedings  of  London  Town  Planning  Conference,  1910,  page  279. 


Fig.  43. — Showing  the  location  of  the 
principal  railway  station  of  Frank- 
fort with  open  space  and  radiating 
streets. 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  161 

advertising  value  to  justify  themselves.  What  are  called 
public  buildings  have  been  moderate  in  height  and  have  con- 
formed more  closely  with  old  established  architectural  traditions. 
New  York  City,  however,  has  lately  built  a  Municipal  Office 
Building  twenty-five  stories  in  height,  with  a  tower  containing 
some  fifteen  additional  stories,  after  designs  made  by  McKim, 
Mead  &  White.  It  covers  an  entire  block,  or  rather  two  irregu- 
lar blocks,  as  one  street  passes  under  it  (PI.  36),  and  fronts  upon 
the  City  Hall  Park  for  a  portion  of  its  length,  so  that  it  does  not 
shut  off  light  or  air  from  other  buildings.  Diagonally  across  City 
Hall  Park  stands  the  Woolworth  Building,  fifty-seven  stories 
in  height,  and  the  illustration  on  PI.  37  shows  these  two  build- 
ings, the  view  of  each  of  them  being  taken  from  the  other. 
This  Municipal  Office  Building  accommodates  some  6000  city 
employees,  and  has  a  total  combined  area  on  all  floors  of  i  ,250,000 
sq.  ft.,  with  usable  office  space,  including  corridors,  of  725,000 
sq.  ft.  If  15  per  cent  be  added  to  this  area  for  utility  space, 
a  five-story  building  offering  the  same  accommodation  would 
cover  166,750  sq.  ft.,  exclusive  of  light  and  air  courts.  These 
would  probably  amount  to  one-third  more,  or  one-fourth  of 
the  entire  building  plot,  so  that  the  site  required  to  accommodate 
a  five-story  building  with  equal  office  space  would  have  to  be 
over  470  ft.  square,  or,  if  200  ft.  wide,  it  would  have  to  be  about 
mi  ft.  long.  This  building,  owing  to  the  peculiar  shape  of 
its  site,  has  no  courts,  and  every  office  is  a  front  room  with  ample 
outside  light.  As  it  is  located  over  an  underground  railway 
station,  the  heating  plant  is  placed  beneath  an  open  space  at 
one  corner,  and  the  smokestack  occupies  a  diagonally  opposite 
corner  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  prevailing  winds, 
while  the  fourth  floor  above  the  street  level  is  given  up  to  the 
accommodation  of  the  complicated  system  of  pipes,  conduits 
and  wiring  incidental  to  a  modern  office  building,  and  which  are 
usually  placed  in  basements  or  sub-basements. 

Another  instance  in  which  New  York  is  violating  established 
precedent  is  in  a  new  court-house  which  is  about  to  be  erected  in 
accordance  with  plans  made  by  Mr.  Guy  Lowell.     This  build- 


162  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

ing  is  to  be  circular,  with  a  diameter  of  386  ft.  and  a  height  of 
204  ft.  above  the  street,  with  eight  stories  on  the  front  and 
thirteen  stories  on  the  central  court  (PI.  38).  A  site  was 
chosen  and  acquired  which  located  the  center  of  the  building 
on  the  axis  of  an  important  street  and  over  a  four-track  under- 
ground rapid-transit  railroad.  Owing  to  the  existence  of  an 
old  pond  which  originally  covered  this  site  and  on  account  of 
the  difficulty  of  spanning  the  underground  railroad,  it  is  now 
proposed  to  change  the  location  somewhat  and  additional  land 
has  been  acquired  for  this  purpose.  The  court-house  site, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  large  enough  to  accommodate  some 
other  pubHc  buildings  and  also  provide  bounding  streets,  will 
be  in  close  proximity  to  the  City  Hall  Park  and  the  Municipal 
Office  Building,  thus  forming  a  somewhat  irregular  civic  center. 
It  has  also  been  suggested  that  a  new  broad  avenue  be  cut 
through  from  this  center  to  the  approach  to  one  of  the  great  East 
River  bridges.  The  present  plan  for  the  general  treatment  of 
this  area  is  shown  by  Fig.  44.  It  will  be  observed  that  none 
of  the  streets  approaching  the  great  circular  courthouse  are 
radial  to  it,  but  all  are  approximately  tangential;  owing  to 
the  circular  form  of  the  building  the  views  of  it  which  will  be 
presented  from  these  streets  may  be  more  satisfactory  than 
would  be  the  case  were  it  rectangular  in  shape,  but  the  pro- 
posed arrangements  appear  to  be  unfortunate. 

The  effective  grouping  of  pubHc  buildings  to  create  civic 
centers  has  received  much  attention  of  late,  so  much  so  that  it 
appears  to  have  become  a  passion  in  American  cities.  Numer- 
ous towns,  great  and  small,  and  many  villages  are  now  study- 
ing this  problem.  Many  of  these  projects  will  never  pass  be- 
yond the  stage  of  studies,  but  one  of  the  first  to  be  undertaken, 
that  at  Cleveland,  is  being  carried  out  and  has  been  in  large  part 
completed,  about  $15,000,000  having  already  been  expended 
for  land,  improvements  and  buildings.  It  was  particularly 
fortunate  in  this  case  that  the  principal  railway  station,  located 
on  the  lake  front,  could  be  made  a  part  of  the  plan,  which  com- 
prises a  rectangle  570  ft.  in  width  and  nearly  2000  ft.  in  length 


PLATE  36 


The  jMuniclpal  Office  Building  in  New  York,  built  over  a  street  60  ft.  wide. 
Reproduced  from  photograph  kindly  furnished  by  the  Department  of  Bridges, 
imder  the  jurisdiction  of  which  the  building  was  erected  (p.  161). 


PLATE  37 


o  .5 


H 


PLATE  38 


■?**Si«9iw-- - 


The  proposed  circular  Court  House  for  New  York,  deigned  by  Mr.  Guy- 
Lowell.  Reproduced  from  photograph  furnished  by  the  Courc  Hou^e  Board.  See 
Fig.  44  (p.  162). 


The  group  of  public  buildings  constituting  the  civic  center  of  Springfield, 
M  ss.  Reproduced  from  photograph  furnished  by  Mr.  Kurt  R.  Sternberg 
(p.  164). 


3    w^iJ  -'M*^    >A^}^^ 


W 

"1      ! 


The  Cleveland  group  plan.     Reproduced  from  the  report  of  the  Group  Plan 
Commission  (p.  163). 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers 


163 


(PI.  39).    At  the   northerly  end  of  the  rectangle  the  County 
Court  House  and  the  City  Hall,  one  on  each  side  and  set  slightly 


yLjLj 


Fig.  44. — Plan  showing  the  site  of  the  proposed  new  Court  House,  New  York, 
and  the  additional  property  (shaded)  taken  in  connection  therewith. 

back  from  the  sides  of  the  rectangle,  will  balance  the  composi- 
tion. These  buildings  are  of  classical  design,  and  to  the  north 
of  them  and  forming  the  northerly  boundary  of  the  rectangle 


164  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

will  be  placed  the  new  Union  passenger  station,  the  gateway 
to  the  city.  The  Federal  building  is  placed  at  the  southerly 
end  of  the  Mall  and  its  companion  or  twin  building  is  to  be  the 
PubUc  Library,  while  along  the  sides  of  the  Mall  are  to  be 
arranged  other  public  and  semi-pubUc  buildings  of  the  future. 
The  Federal  building,  the  County  Court  House  and  the  City 
Hall  have  been  completed.  The  greater  part  of  the  ground  for 
the  Mall  has  been  acquired  and  negotiations  between  the  city 
and  the  railroad  company  have  been  concluded,  so  that  the 
erection  of  the  new  station  is  soon  to  be  commenced.  The 
amount  of  land  required  for  the  group  plan  proper  is  about 
41  acres,  while  the  complete  scheme  embraces  53  acres  of  the 
made  land  on  the  lake  front  besides  Lakeview  Park  of  10  acres, 
a  total  of  over  100  acres  in  the  heart  of  a  thickly  populated  city. 
The  Cleveland  Group  Plan  Commission  was  originally  composed 
of  Messrs.  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  John  M.  Carrere  and  Arnold 
W.  Brunner,  and  their  first  report  was  made  in  1903.  Messrs. 
Burnham  and  Carrere  have  since  died  and  have  been  succeeded 
by  Messrs.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Frank  B.  Meade. 

One  of  the  very  first  group  plans  to  be  carried  to  completion 
is  that  of  Springfield,  Mass.  It  is  much  less  extensive  than  that 
of  Cleveland,  consisting  of  two  buildings  with  a  bell  tower 
between  them.  In  this  tower  are  chimes  of  bells  and  a  pro- 
fessional chime-ringer  is  regularly  employed  by  the  city  (PI.  38). 

The  city  of  San  Francisco  is  carrying  out  and  has  already 
completed  a  part  of  an  effective  scheme  for  the  grouping  of  its 
most  important  pubHc  buildings  (Fig.  45),  This  was  de- 
scribed in  some  detail  in  the  Engineering  Record  of  October 
31,  1914.  The  conspicuous  feature  of  the  plan  is  its  adapta- 
tion to  the  previously  existing  street  system.  The  former 
triangular  site  of  the  city  hall  is  devoted  partly  to  sites  for  new 
buildings  and  partly  to  a  broad  approach.  Four  city  blocks  are 
given  up  to  a  plaza  about  which  the  buildings  are  grouped,  while 
the  site  of  the  new  city  hall  covers  four  additional  blocks.  The 
City  Hall  itself,  which  dominates  the  group,  is  a  huge  building 
300  ft.  by  400  ft.  in  size,  surmounted  by  a  dome  no  ft.  in 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers 


165 


diameter,  the  top  of  which  is  300  ft.  above  the  street  level,  this 
building  fronting  one  of  the  long  sides  of  the  plaza  (PI,  40). 
Opposite  one  end  of  the  plaza  is  a  great  auditorium  building 
265  ft.  by  402  ft.  in  size,  containing  an  octagonal  main  hall 
200  ft.  in  diameter,  with  seating  capacity  for  5000  persons, 
besides  a  large  free  space,  while  5000  more  can  be  seated  in  the 
balcony. 

Opposite  the  auditorium  is  to  be  located  a  state  building 
while  the  side  of  the  plaza  opposite  the  city  hall  is  being  set 


r 

1 

gjj 

STATE  BUILDING 

^ 

to 

:.' ■ — :i 

^ 

> ^ 

SITE  OF 
LIBRARY 

CC 
< 

CL 

< 
I 
> 

1       -       r 
L         J 

^ 

UNASSIGNED 

5  -1 

AUDITORIUM 

f 

H  !-• 

y^ 

^ 

/ 

1 

1-\  It 1^ 

Fig.  45. — Plan  of  the  San  Francisco   Civic  Center.      Reproduced    from   plan 
kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  M.  M.  O'Shaughnessy,  City  Engineer. 

aside  as  a  site  for  a  library  and  for  some  other  building,  the 
use  of  which  is  not  yet  determined,  and  opposite  the  four  corners 
of  the  plaza  are  to  be  four  minor  public  buildings.  The  city 
hall  dome  will  be  on  the  axis  of  broad  streets  approaching  it 
from  either  direction.  While  San  Francisco  after  the  great  fire 
of  1906  seriously  considered  a  general  replanning  of  the  burned 
area,  it  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  perfect  such  plans  before 
a  general  reconstruction  took  place  on  the  old  lines,  and  when 


166  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  property  was  acquired  for  this  new  civic  center  a  number  of 
buildings  which  had  been  erected  after  the  fire  and  while  the 
plans  were  under  consideration  had  to  be  destroyed.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  poUcy  of  direct  legislation  and  the  referendum, 
which  are  so  popular  in  the  western  part  of  the  United  States, 
a  bond  issue  of  $8,800,000  was  authorized  for  the  constuction  of 
these  buildings,  while  the  provision  of  funds  for  the  state  build- 
ing was  similarly  authorized  by  the  vote  of  the  people  at  a  general 
state  election. 

A  comprehensive  plan  for  the  future  development  of  Seattle, 
prepared  for  the  Municipal  Plans  Commission  of  that  city  by 
Mr.  Virgil  G.  Bogue,  while  especially  conspicuous  for  its  far- 
sighted  provision  for  future  commercial  development,  including 
rail  and  water  terminals,  and  its  provision  for  a  park  and 
boulevard  system,  included  plans  for  an  imposing  civic  center, 
the  main  approaches  to  which  would  be,  one  by  a  broad  avenue 
from  the  north  connecting  the  civic  center  with  a  plaza  in  front 
of  a  proposed  new  railway  terminal,  and  another  from  the 
west,  which,  cutting  diagonally  across  the  present  street  system, 
would  lead  to  the  shore  of  Puget  Sound,  across  which  can  be 
seen  the  peaks  of  the  Olympic  range.  These  plans  have  been 
rather  harshly  criticised  by  some  who  do  not  fancy  the  particular 
shape  and  dimensions  of  the  civic  center  and  who  do  not  appear 
to  appreciate  the  admirable  features  of  the  plan,  especially 
those  which  are  designed  to  promote  the  commercial  develop- 
ment of  the  city.  The  plan  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  a 
general  election  and  failed  of  approval,  which  was,  perhaps, 
fortunate,  as  the  ordinance  providing  for  its  adoption  contained 
the  unusual  and  unwise  provision  that  it  could  not  be  changed 
in  any  particular  "  until  modified  or  amended  at  some  subse- 
quent election."  Constant  tinkering  with  and  radical  changes 
in  a  city  plan  by  succeeding  administrations  are  prejudicial  to 
orderly  growth  and  involve  great  waste  of  public  funds,  but  no 
plan  can  be  evolved  that  cannot  be  advantageously  modified 
in  some  details,  as  circumstances  or  changing  conditions  indicate 
that  it  is  desirable  to  do  so.     To  require  a  referendum  to  the 


PLATE  40 


View  of  San  Francisco's  civic  center;  the  City  Hall  on  the  right;  the 
Auditorium  on  the  left.  Reproduced  from  photograph  furnished  by  Mr.  M.  M. 
O'Shaughnessy,  City  Engineer.     See  Fig.  45  (p.  165). 


An  old  aqueduct  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  now  used  by  an  electric  railroad. 
•  a  photograph  furnished  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Corlhell  (p.  173). 


From 


PLATE  41 


V^ 


rerr  „. 


Two  examples  of  high  school  buildings  recently  erected  in  New  York. 
The  upper  view  shows  the  interior  of  a  large  quadrangle  which  will  be  entirely 
enclosed  by  the  building.  Reproduced  from  photographs  furnished  by  Mr.  C.  B. 
J.  Snyder,  architect  of  both  buildings  (p.  170). 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  167 


people  of  such  details,  when  their  verdict  is  likely  to  be  con- 
trolled by  a  sudden  prejudice  or  a  spasm  of  extravagance  on  the 
one  hand  or  economy  on  the  other,  is  most  unwise. 

The  aim  of  city  planners  and  architects  usually  is  to  locate 
public  buildings,  whether  isolated  or  in  groups,  so  that  each 
building  shall  be  a  single  unit,  even  though  it  may  bear  a  cer- 
tain relation  to  others.  Each  building  is  given  a  site  of  its  own, 
with  due  regard  for  those  of  its  neighbors.  There  are  those, 
however,  and  their  opinion  is  entitled  to  the  greatest  respect, 
who  strongly  urge  the  avoidance  of  an  appearance  of  isolation, 
even  in  buildings  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  who  instance 
the  charming  effect  of  an  apparently  irregular  ''  place  "  where 
really  great  buildings  are  seen  to  far  better  advantage  when 
flanked  by  those  of  minor  importance,  or  when  even  physically 
connected  with  them,  and  cases  are  cited  where  some  small  and 
relatively  mean  buildings  have  been  removed  and  the  result 
has  proved  so  disappointing  that  they  were  subsequently 
replaced.  The  artistic  judgment  of  these  writers  and  critics 
will  not  be  questioned,  but  these  pages  are  frankly  written  from 
the  viewpoint  of  the  engineer,  of  the  men  who  will  largely  con- 
trol the  general  plan  of  the  city,  making  it  easy  or  difficult  to 
select  sites  for  public  and  semi-public  buildings  and  without 
the  costly  and  disheartening  process  of  tearing  down  buildings 
and  rearranging  streets  in  order  to  provide  such  sites.  If  there 
are  smaller  structures  on  adjacent  plots  which  will  enhance  the 
beauty  of  the  more  important  buildings,  they  can  remain;  if 
necessary  they  can  be  built.  If  competent  authorities  decide 
that  they  should  go,  they  can  readily  be  removed.  The  small 
and  shabby  shops  which  cluster  about  Antwerp  Cathedral  are 
held  by  some  to  enhance  its  beauty,  by  others  to  detract  from 
it.  The  Cathedral  of  St.  Bovan,  the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas 
and  the  old  belfry  in  Ghent,  each  standing  by  itself,  are  said 
to  suffer  from  their  isolation,  and  this  view  is  probably  correct, 
but  no  city  plan  likely  to  be  made  today  would  contemplate 
such  locations.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  anything  more  pleasant 
in  its  simple  dignity  than  the  New  England  village  green,  with 


168  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  church,  or  churches,  and  the  town  hall  placed  either  in  it 
or  fronting  it.  They  are  not  connected  with  other  buildings 
in  order  to  secure  a  picturesque  effect;  each  has  its  own  site; 
they  are  in  many  respects  isolated,  yet  the  impression  they 
create  is  a  very  satisfactory  one. 

Probably  no  such  extensive  grouping  of  monumental  public 
buildings  has  ever  been  planned  or  undertaken  as  is  proposed 
for  Washington.  Each  one  of  these  buildings  is  given  a  spacious 
site,  so  that  it  can  be  seen  to  advantage.  Pis.  27  and  28  show 
the  plan  of  the  Park  Commission  for  their  arrangement.  The 
distance  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Lincoln  Memorial  on  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac  is  about  two  miles.  Along  the  easterly 
two-thirds  of  this  distance,  or  between  the  Washington  Monu- 
ment and  the  Capitol,  the  new  pubHc  buildings  will  be  grouped, 
while  the  other  third  will  be  a  beautiful  park.  There  will  be 
no  striving  after  picturesque  effects  by  placing  one  great  build- 
ing where  it  will  show  to  advantage  by  contrast  with  smaller 
ones.  While  there  will  be  sufficient  harmony  in  their  design 
and  treatment  to  give  a  pleasing  effect,  each  will  stand  by  itself 
and  be  worthy  of  its  setting.  This  allowance  of  spacious  sites 
is  a  conspicuous  characteristic  of  the  public  buildings  of  Wash- 
ington, from  the  Capitol  itself  to  the  railway  station,  from  the 
White  House  to  the  Senate  and  House  office  buildings,  and  it  is 
consequently  difficult  to  appreciate  their  great  size.  The 
Lincoln  Memorial,  which  is  now  being  erected  after  plans  by 
Mr.  Henry  Bacon,  is  said  to  be  the  costliest  monument  to  the 
memory  of  one  man  ever  reared  by  a  republic.  It  will  stand 
on  a  terrace  45  ft.  high,  will  be  in  the  form  of  a  temple  188  ft. 
long  and  118  ft.  wide,  and  will  contain  36  columns  44  ft.  high 
and  more  than  7  ft.  in  diameter  at  the  base.  In  the  central 
hall,  which  will  be  70  ft.  long,  60  ft.  wide  and  60  ft.  high,  will 
be  placed  the  statue  of  Lincoln. 

The  grouping  of  public  buildings  is  advantageous  in  that 
it  will  permit  the  concentration  of  public  business  and  facilitate 
the  conduct  of  inter-departmental  affairs,  in  addition  to  which 
such  grouping  will  give  an  added  dignity  to  the  city  and  make 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  169 

a  favorable  impression  upon  visitors.  This  is  especially  true 
of  cities  of  moderate  size  or  those  of  several  hundred  thousand 
population.  In  very  large  cities  there  is  a  tendency  toward 
decentralization,  which  is  really  the  fundamental  idea  back  of 
the  so-called  Garden  City  movement,  and  the  location  of  all 
public  buildings  in  one  group,  while  it  may  be  convenient  as 
to  administration,  is  likely  to  involve  congestion  and  annoyance 
to  many  of  those  who  have  business  with  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  city  govermnent.  A  grand  climax  may  be  all 
right  in  a  city  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  people,  but  when  it 
becomes  a  city  of  several  millions  there  is  not  only  need  of  sub- 
centers  for  public  convenience,  but  such  sub-centers  will  add 
greatly  to  the  interest  and  attractiveness  of  a  large  town.  The 
segregation  of  places  of  amusement,  such  as  theatres,  has  some 
advantages,  in  that,  if  one  is  unable  to  secure  seats  at  one  place 
of  entertainment,  he  can  probably  be  accommodated  at  another 
within  a  few  minutes'  walk;  but  such  segregation  involves  long 
and  tiresome  journeys  for  many  of  those  who  wish  to  patronize 
the  theatres  or  other  places  of  amusement  and  is  likely  to 
result  in  serious  congestion  of  trafific. 

There  are  many  minor  public  buildings — far  greater  in  number 
than  those  which  are  likely  to  be  grouped  in  a  civic  center — 
which  are  commonly  located  in  a  haphazard  fashion  wherever 
the  most  available  or  the  cheapest  property  can  be  acquired 
for  them  at  the  time  they  are  erected.  These  buildings  are  of 
two  classes,  to  which  different  kinds  of  location  are  best  suited. 
In  one  class  are  schools  of  various  grades,  branch  Hbraries, 
pubUc  baths,  etc.,  which  need  not  be  and  should  not  be  on 
main  traffic  streets.  Their  location  will  depend  to  a  large 
degree  upon  the  distribution  of  population,  but,  if  certain  blocks 
in  different  parts  of  the  city  were  set  aside  for  them,  several 
could  be  grouped  together  and  designed  in  harmony  with  each 
other  with  sufficient  space  about  them  to  insure  abundant 
light  and  air  and  with  room  for  future  additions,  space  for 
which,  until  needed,  might  well  be  devoted  to  playgrounds. 
Such  a  block  would  be  pecuKarly  well  suited  to  the  purpose  if 


170  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  street  system  about  it  were  sufficiently  irregular  not  to  invite 
traffic.  The  other  class  would  include  such  buildings  as  poUce 
stations,  fire-engine  houses,  repair  shops,  municipal  garages  or 
stables,  and  buildings  of  this  character.  These  could  also  be 
designed  to  harmonize  with  each  other  and  form  consistent 
groups.  They  would  naturally  be  located  on  or  in  close  proximity 
to  the  more  important  thoroughfares,  in  order  that  the  territory 
which  they  serve  may  be  easily  reached.  In  either  case  such 
municipal  blocks  would  be  creditable  to  the  city,  while  the 
problem  of  heating,  maintaining  and  caring  for  them  would 
be  greatly  simplified. 

Some  of  our  modern  school  buildings  are  so  large  and  well 
designed  that  they  are  especially  worthy  of  a  good  site.  One 
of  the  High  School  buildings  in  New  York  occupies  a  site  about 
300  ft.  in  width  and  about  650  ft.  in  depth,  the  latter  dimen- 
sion extending  entirely  through  the  block  in  which  it  is  located ; 
but  on  both  sides  it  is  closely  hemmed  in  by  dwellings  and 
shops.  It  has  one  unusual  advantage,  however,  in  that  its 
large  site  permitted  it  to  be  built  in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle 
with  an  inner  court  which  will  be  about  200  by  500  ft.  in  size. 
The  front  and  part  of  the  sides  of  this  quadrangle  have  been 
completed  and  the  entire  plan  will  be  carried  out  in  time. 
Another  High  School  still  has  ample  space  about  the  building, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  other  detached  structures  devoted  to 
some  municipal  purpose  will  be  grouped  about  it  (PI.  41). 
While  an  effort  is  usually  made  to  adapt  dwelHngs  to  climate 
and  environment,  little  attention  is  usually  paid  to  these  con- 
siderations in  the  location  and  design  of  pubUc  buildings. 
One  of  the  best,  if  most  modest  efforts,  to  do  so  is  that  of  the 
fire-engine  house  in  Portland,  Oregon,  one  of  the  buildings  shown 
on  PL  42,  This  fire-engine  house  is  located  in  a  residential 
district  and  its  design  is  similar  to  that  of  the  dwellings  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood.  The  Post-Office  building  in  Santa 
Barbara  is  also  quite  different  from  the  usual  type  of  post- 
office  to  be  found  through  the  country,  and  is  more  in  har- 
mony with  the  prevailing  architecture  in  the  locality,  while  in 


PLATE  42 


«M'M«it 


-'-■^.;'f«*W».'^- 


A  tire-engine  house  in  the  bungalow  section  oi  Portland,  Ore.  (p.  170J. 


Entrance  to  the  banta  Fe  Railroad  Station  at  San  Diego,  Cal.  (p.  171). 


The  railroad  station  at  liarstow  in  the  California  desert   (p.  171). 


PLATE  43 


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Oh    S 


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a 

Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  171 

the  two  railway  stations,  the  one  at  San  Diego  and  the  other  at 
Barstow,  the  mission  type  of  architecture,  so  generally  found 
in  California,  has  been  successfully  used  (PI.  42). 

Arches,  monuments,  and  fountains  are  supposed  to  be  for 
purposes  of  adornment  and  should,  therefore,  be  placed  where 
they  can  be  seen  to  advantage;  but  this,  unfortunately,  is  not 
always  done.  In  Paris  there  are  many  instances  of  the  admir- 
able location  of  such  structures.  The  Brandenburg  Gate  across 
Unter  den  Linden  at  the  entrance  to  the  Berlin  Tiergarten  is 
another.  The  Washington  Arch  forms  an  impressive  terminal 
at  the  lower  end  of  Fifth  avenue  in  New  York,  but  cannot  be 
seen  to  advantage  for  any  distance  from  the  south.  A  Soldiers' 
and  Sailors'  Memorial  Arch  has  been  erected  at  the  main 
entrance  to  Prospect  Park  in  Brooklyn,  and  although  several 
important  streets  converge  at  the  plaza  in  front  of  this  entrance, 
the  arch  appears  to  have  been  deliberately  located  off  the  axis 
of  every  one  of  these  streets,  and  its  effect  is  thereby  lost.  This 
same  locality  affords  another  illustration  of  a  misplaced  public 
building  now  in  course  of  erection.  Immediately  in  front  of  the 
high-service  reservoir,  which  is  flanked  by  a  lofty  water  tower  of 
admirable  design,  and  in  a  triangular  space  between  the  reservoir 
and  two  very  important  streets,  a  space  that  should  by  all  means 
have  been  kept  open,  a  huge  public  library  is  being  built  (PI.  43). 
The  unsuitability  of  this  location  was  pointed  out  at  the  time 
the  site  was  under  discussion,  and  Mr.  Frederick  L.  Olmsted, 
among  others,  urged  that  the  proper  place  for  this  building 
was  on  the  northerly  side  of  Eastern  Parkway,  where  it  would 
form  an  admirable  balance  for  the  dignified  Park  entrance;  but 
these  protests  were  disregarded.  This  is  especially  to  be  re- 
gretted in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  introduction  of  a  new  water- 
supply  system  will  soon  make  it  possible  to  dispense  with  the 
high-service  reservoir,  the  space  occupied  by  which  would  make 
an  admirable  site  for  an  important  public  building,  the  library 
itself,  an  art  museum  or  some  educational  institution.  The 
reservoir  occupies  the  highest  ground  in  this  part  of  the  city, 
and  would  form  an  Acropolis  worthy  of  a  Parthenon.     Phila- 


172  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

delphia  is  doing  this  very  thing  that  New  York  failed  to  do. 
Its  new  Fairmount  Parkway  is  to  extend  from  the  City  Hall 
to  a  point  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  River  occupied  by  a 
reservoir  which  has  now  been  abandoned.  On  this  reservoir 
site,  at  an  elevation  above  the  surrounding  streets,  is  to  be 
placed  a  fine-arts  museum  closing  the  vista  from  the  City 
Hall  along  this  parkway,  while  in  front  of  the  museum  build- 
ing is  to  be  a  plaza,  fronting  which  will  be  an  impressive  group 
of  buildings  devoted  to  art  and  educational  purposes  (PI.  44). 
There  are  no  structures  other  than  great  public  buildings 
which  attract  more  attention  and  the  location  and  design  of 
which  are  cf  greater  importance  than  bridges.  As  bridges  are 
parts  of  highways  their  position  will  largely  be  controlled  by 
the  street  system,  while  the  material  of  which  they  are  built, 
their  weight  and  design  will  necessarily  be  governed  by  the 
character  of  the  foundations,  the  kind  of  traffic  which  is  to  pass 
over  and  under  them,  the  topography  of  the  site  and  consider- 
ations of  cost.  Probably  no  greater,  more  costly,  or  more 
dignified  bridges  have  been  built  in  any  city  than  those  across 
the  East  River  in  New  York,  and  the  most  beautiful  of  them  is 
the  one  which  was  built  first — the  Brooklyn  Bridge.  Its  towers 
are  of  stone  masonry,  of  simple  but  excellent  design.  In  the 
later  bridges,  two  of  which  are  suspension  and  one  a  cantilever, 
steel  towers  were  used  for  reasons  of  economy  and  to  permit 
greater  rapidity  of  construction,  and  the  bridges  necessarily 
lose  a  certain  amount  of  massiveness  and  dignity  in  their  general 
effect.  In  the  case  of  these  later  bridges  one  might  have  thought 
that  they  were  erected  merely  for  the  sake  of  building  a  bridge, 
as  the  structures  themselves  were  completed  many  months 
before  suitable  approaches  were  provided,  during  which  period 
the  public  was  unable  to  enjoy  other  than  a  very  restricted  use 
of  them.  In  fact,  the  question  of  their  approaches  was  not 
seriously  taken  up  until  the  bridges  themselves  were  nearing 
completion,  although,  if  the  idea  that  a  bridge  is  part  of  a  high- 
way is  correct,  intelligent  planning  would  dictate  the  determina- 
tion of  the  approaches  to  and  connections  with  a  bridge  as  a  part 


Public  Buildings  and  Civic  Centers  173 


of  the  original  plan.  No  one  feature  of  Paris  is  more  impressive 
than  the  bridges  across  the  Seine,  the  beautiful  Alexandre  III 
bridge  being  one  of  the  most  notable  structures  of  its  size  in 
the  world.  Those  of  London  and  Berlin  are  also  interesting  and 
dignified,  while  the  Cambridge  Bridge  at  Boston  is  a  great 
addition  to  the  monumental  structures  of  the  metropoUtan 
district  of  which  the  Massachusetts  State  House  is  the  center 
(PI.  45);  but  none  of  them  approach  in  size  those  over  the 
East  River. 

The  aqueducts  of  many  of  the  ancient  cities,  though  mere 
ruins,  still  attest  the  high  level  reached  by  the  engineers  and 
architects  of  those  days  in  the  design  of  their  pubHc  structures. 
None  of  the  bridges  about  New  York  is  more  beautiful  than 
High  Bridge  (PI.  46),  which  was  built  as  an  aqueduct  to 
bring  the  Croton  water  supply  into  the  city;  as  a  bridge  it  pro- 
vides only  for  pedestrians  and  has  no  roadway  for  vehicles. 
A  little  to  the  north  is  the  Washington  Bridge,  a  monumental 
structure,  one  of  its  two  great  arches  spanning  the  Harlem 
River  and  the  other  the  tracks  of  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road (PL  47).  Two  arches,  one  spanning  a  river  and  the 
other  land,  present  a  difficult  problem,  yet  the  designer  of  this 
bridge  appears  to  have  successfully  solved  it.  An  old  aqueduct 
in  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  now  used  as  a  bridge  for  an  electric  railway, 
and  is  one  of  the  picturesque  features  of  that  city  (PI.  40). 

The  city  has  to  build  and  maintain  within  its  limits 
mechanical  plants  such  as  pumping  stations,  refuse  destructors, 
and  sewage  disposal  works,  which  the  residents  of  the  district 
in  which  they  may  be  located  are  likely  to  regard  as  more  or 
less  of  a  nuisance,  and  the  location  of  which  in  their  neighbor- 
hood they  vigorously  oppose,  thinking  that  it  will  inevitably 
mean  smoke,  noise,  bad  odors  and  unsightliness,  with  a  con- 
sequent depreciation  of  property  values.  This  feeling  is  not 
unnatural  and  is  fully  justified  by  the  manner  in  which  such 
plants  have  been  commonly  designed,  built  and  operated. 
It  has  been  found  possible,  however,  to  almost  entirely  eliminate 
these  objectionable  features.     Reservoirs  and  pumping  stations 


174  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


for  water  supply  are  now  quite  generally  built  so  that  they 
are  actually  an  ornament  to  the  city,  as  witness  the  Chestnut 
Hill  reservoir  of  Boston,  and  the  pumping  stations  of  Detroit 
and  Chicago.  The  sewage  pumping  station  on  the  water- 
front of  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  not  at  all  objectionable,  and  even 
sewage-treatment  plants  can  be  made  inoffensive  and  even 
attractive,  as  has  been  done  at  Essen-Nord,  where  such  a 
plant  is  located  in  a  well-populated  district,  and  it  is  said 
that  there  is  no  complaint  of  nuisance  from  it  (PI.  48).  A 
chimney  of  a  Hghting  plant  in  Dresden  has  been  so  designed  that 
it  might  be  taken  for  an  ornamental  tower,  while  in  this  same 
city  the  difficult  problem  of  mitigating  the  ugliness  of  a  gas 
holder  appears  to  have  been  accomplished,  not  by  covering  it 
with  aluminum  coating,  but  by  enclosing  it  in  a  rather  attractive 
concrete  structure.  Even  when  the  city  has  to  erect  structures 
far  beyond  its  Umits  it  is  now  generally  agreed  that  they  should 
be  designed  with  some  regard  to  their  appearance,  and  that 
they  should  be  in  some  way  typical  and  worthy  of  the  city 
which  they  serve.  The  design  of  the  Kensico  Dam  and  the 
treatment  of  its  surroundings  illustrate  this  tendency.  (See 
PI.  24.)  Up  in  the  Catskill  Mountains,  100  miles  from  the 
city,  where  New  York  has  built  a  great  reservoir,  the  aerating 
of  the  water  before  it  begins  its  long  journey  through  the  aque- 
duct to  the  city,  has  so  been  done  as  to  provide  a  beautiful 
group  of  fountains  (PI.  49).  At  the  head  of  this  reservoir  the 
fine  road  which  has  been  built  around  it  is  carried  across  a 
ravine  by  an  attractive  bridge  shown  in  PI.  50. 


PLATE  44 


PLATE  45 


PLATE  46 


High  Bridge,  New  York,  completed  in  1843,  is  the  aqueduct  by  which 
Croton  water  was  first  brought  into  the  city.  Persistent  demands  are  now 
being  made  that  one  or  two  of  the  piers  of  this  bridge  be  remo\ed  in  the  interest 
of  navigation  on  the  Harlem  River.  This  and  the  view  on  PI.  47  are  reproduced 
from  photographs  furnished  by  the  New  York  Department  of  Bridges  (p.  173). 


PLATE  47 


P^ 


(J 


K 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  ECONOMIC  VALUE  OF  A   CITY  PLAN 

TT  is  very  difficult  to  capitalize  the  advantages  of  any  im- 
•*-  provement  or  betterment  which  is  for  the  free  use  and 
benefit  of  the  general  public.  It  may  be  possible  to  estimate 
the  pecuniary  loss  suffered  by  individuals,  by  groups  of  individ- 
uals, or  by  corporations  through  delays  and  increased  expenses 
which  are  due  to  a  bad  plan,  but  estimates  of  this  kind  should 
be  subjected  to  careful  scrutiny  before  conclusions  are  drawn 
from  them.  It  has  been  said  that  figures  do  not  lie,  and  yet 
we  know  that  they  can  and  often  do  lie  outrageously.  Statis- 
tics, if  skilfully  handled,  can  be  made  to  prove  almost  anything. 
Estimates  could  be  presented  which  have  doubtless  been  made 
with  care  and  have  been  pubHshed  in  entirely  good  faith,  but 
they  have  been  collected  for  the  express  purpose  of  proving 
something — something  which  we  are  all  disposed  to  admit — 
but  those  who  have  made  them  have  been  so  intent  upon  making 
a  case  that  other  contributing  causes  may  have  been  lost  sight 
of.  Even  if  due  allowance  be  made  for  such  omissions,  the 
preponderance  of  evidence  is  so  great  that  the  general  conclu- 
sions must  be  admitted  to  be  sound.  It  is  quite  obvious,  for 
instance,  that  if  goods  are  to  be  moved  from  one  point  to  another, 
and  if  it  is  necessary  in  doing  so  to  follow  two  sides  of  a  tri- 
angle instead  of  travelling  along  the  hypothenuse,  there  is  a 
loss  of  time  and  an  increase  in  cost;  but  to  take  a  traffic  census 
and  apply  that  estimated  loss  to  every  load  or  ton  which  is 
hauled  over  the  longer  route  under  the  assumption  that  each 
would  have  taken  a  more  direct  route  were  it  available,  might 
lead  to  a  false  conclusion.  To  compute  the  delays  which  occur 
to  traffic  and  apply  them  to  the  hourly  expense  of  a  team  and 

175 


176  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

driver  and  to  argue  that  each  team  would  have  accomplished 
so  much  more  during  the  working  day  is  to  neglect  the  personal 
equation  of  the  driver  and  the  improbability  of  his  or  his  team's 
disposition  or  capacity  for  a  sustained  maximum  effort  during 
the  entire  working  day. 

When  an  attempt  is  made  to  estimate  the  value  to  the  city 
or  the  State  of  the  more  robust  and  vigorous  manhood  and 
womanhood  which  would  result  from  better  Uving  and  work- 
ing conditions,  and  the  consequent  saving  in  the  annual  budget 
for  charities  and  the  maintenance  of  order,  we  are  again  deahng 
with  something  which  we  know  to  be  of  enormous  advantage, 
but  which  can  scarcely  be  expressed  in  dollars  and  cents.  Some 
estimates  of  this  kind  are  worthy  of  serious  consideration,  but 
an  effort  should  be  made  to  avoid  conclusions  which  are  unwar- 
ranted or  other  than  conservative. 

It  may  not  be  possible  to  express  the  advantages  of  a  good 
city  or  town  plan  in  money.  Mr.  John  Burns,  who  may  be 
called  the  father  of  city  planning  legislation,  has  said  that 
investment  in  a  good  plan,  whether  it  be  for  new  parts  of  a  city 
or  for  the  correction  of  older  parts,  if  regarded  for  a  period  of 
a  year,  may  appear  expensive;  if  considered  for  a  period  of 
five  years  it  will  be  profitable;  when  considered  for  a  period  of 
fifty  years  it  will  be  an  investment  which  in  subsequent  days 
will  make  the  community  regret  that  it  did  not  adopt  it  sooner. 
Mr.  Burns  further  notes  that  the  neglected  hamlets  of  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  are  the  squalid  industrial  towns  and  cities  of 
to-day,  and  he  pleads  that  we  should  so  arrange  the  physical 
life  of  a  hamlet,  village,  town  or  city  that  it  can  grow  naturally 
and  at  each  stage  avoid  the  cost,  nuisance,  ugliness,  and  squalor 
which  one  sees  wherever  a  town  encroaches  on  the  country. 

It  is  often  urged  that  improvements  designed  to  correct  the 
obvious  defects  in  a  city  plan  be  carried  out  at  the  general 
expense,  a  favorite  argument  being  that  the  increased  taxable 
values  will  more  than  provide  for  the  interest  and  sinking  fund 
charges  on  the  debt  which  may  be  incurred  for  this  purpose. 
This  argument  may  be  a  sound  one  in  specific  cases,  but  it  is 


The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan  177 

used  so  often  and  in  connection  with  so  many  projects  where 
the  benefited  districts  would  overlap  that  it  should  not  be  taken 
too  seriously.  If  there  is  to  be  an  increase  in  taxable  values 
resulting  from  an  expenditure  of  public  funds,  the  entire  pubHc 
should  reap  the  benefit  due  to  such  increased  revenue  from 
taxation,  and  the  owners  of  the  property  thus  enhanced  in  value 
could  justly  be  assessed  for  any  improvement  which  will  result 
in  peculiar  benefit  to  them.  But  let  us  take  a  few  specific 
cases.  Central  Park  in  New  York  was  acquired  and  its  improve- 
ment commenced  in  1858.  Up  to  the  end  of  1873  the  city  had 
invested  in  this  project  nearly  fourteen  milHons  of  dollars, 
of  which  about  five  milHon  dollars  was  for  land,  and  nearly 
nine  million  dollars  for  improvements.  Mr.  Salem  H.  Wales, 
President  of  the  Park  Board  in  1873,  notes  that  during  the 
period  between  the  beginning  of  this  undertaking  and  the 
year  last  named  the  average  increase  in  values  in  other  parts 
of  the  city  had  been  about  100  per  cent  and,  had  this  rate  of 
increase  been  applied  to  the  property  within  the  three  wards 
contiguous  to  Central  Park  its  value  in  1873  would  have  been 
about  fifty-three  millions  of  dollars,  whereas  it  actually  was 
two  hundred  and  thirty-six  milKon  dollars,  so  that  the  increase 
for  the  period,  instead  of  100  per  cent,  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
city,  was  nearly  800  per  cent.  The  assumption  that  this  increase 
was  entirely  due  to  the  acquisition  and  development  of  this 
park  would  be  unwarranted.  As  property  changes  from  acre- 
age to  city  lots  the  percentage  of  increase  in  value  is  greater 
than  during  any  other  period  of  development.  Much  of  this 
advance  in  value  may  be  speculative,  but  that  there  is  a  real 
increase  due  to  the  land  having  become  marketable  cannot  be 
questioned.  During  the  period  covered  by  the  increase  in  tax- 
able values  about  Central  Park,  the  great  northward  move- 
ment in  population  and  improvement  began,  and  there  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  a  marked  advance  in  value  even  if 
Central  Park  had  not  been  bought  and  improved;  but  it  is 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  it  would  have  been  so  great.  If 
we  cut  the  figures  in  two  and  conclude  that  values  within  these 


178  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

three  wards  were  quadrupled  as  a  result  of  this  improvement, 
it  is  likely  that  we  would  not  be  far  wrong. 

The  practice  of  assessing  at  least  part  of  the  cost  of  acquiring 
new  and  the  widening  of  existing  streets  is  quite  general  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  persistence  of  this  poHcy  when  once 
begun  and  its  adoption  by  cities  which  formerly  paid  the  cost 
from  general  funds  is  conclusive  evidence  of  its  wisdom.  The 
same  practice  could  with  propriety  be  applied  to  the  acquisition 
of  parks.  In  the  case  of  Central  Park  about  32  per  cent  of  the 
cost  of  acquiring  it  was  assessed  upon  a  large  area  of  benefit 
(Fig.  46),  while  38.5  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  acquiring  Prospect 
Park,  in  Brooklyn,  was  similarly  assessed  (Fig.  47).  The 
reason  for  not  extending  the  area  of  benefit  beyond  one  side  of 
the  park  in  the  latter  case  was  that  the  land  on  that  side  lay  beyond 
the  city  limits,  and  assessments  could  not  legally  be  imposed 
upon  it.  Leading  from  Prospect  Park  southwardly  to  the 
ocean  through  towns  not  then  a-  part  of  the  city  and  eastwardly 
to  what  was  then  the  city  line,  parkways  210  ft.  in  width  were 
laid  out  and  improved,  and  the  failure,  for  more  than  a  genera- 
tion, of  the  contiguous  property  to  respond  either  in  value  or 
development  to  these  improvements  might  be  cited  as  instances 
to  disprove  the  contention  that  city  planning  improvements 
have  an  actual  and  measurable  money  value.  The  absence  of 
a  marked  increase  in  realty  values  along  these  parkways, 
however,  was  undoubtedly  due  to  lack  of  transit  facilities. 
They  were  of  very  great  general,  but  of  relatively  small  local 
benefit.  Had  the  abutting  property  been  put  in  touch  with 
the  rest  of  the  city  by  adequate  transit  lines  a  marked  enhance 
ment  of  values  would  promptly  have  followed.  The  conclu- 
sion, therefore,  must  be  that  the  planning  was  not  complete; 
that  attractive  parkways  were  provided  without  adequate 
means  of  getting  to  or  from  them. 

Kansas  City  has  created  a  very  complete  system  of  parks 
and  parkways  (see  PL  19),  and,  instead  of  incurring  a  debt 
and  leaving  the  bill  to  be  paid  by  posterity,  the  people  of 
the   city  have  felt   so   sure  of   their  immediate    value   to  the 


PLATE  48 


A  bit  of  the  water  front  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  showing  a  sewage  pumping  station. 
From  a  photograph  furnished  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Corthell  (p.  174). 


A  sewage  treatment  plant  at  Essen-Nord  in  a  thickly  populated  district. 
Reproduced  from  a  photograph  by  Mr.  Harold  M.  Lewis  (p.  174). 


PLATE  49 


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The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan 


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The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


community  as  a  whole  that  they  have  assessed  themselves  for  the 
entire  cost  in  order  to  pay  cash.     Denver  has  followed  a  some- 


nDDDDDDaLu..., 

Pig.  47.— Showing  the  area  (shaded)  upon  which  was  assessed  38.5  per  cent  of 
the  cost  of  acquiring  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

what  similar  poHcy,  the  city  being  divided  into  four  park  districts 
upon  the  property  within  which  is  assessed  the  cost  of  acquiring 
additional  parks  and  parkways.     The  assessments  are  graded 


The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan  181 

according  to  the  distance  from  the  park  or  parkway  acquired. 
From  information  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  H.  F.  Mery weather, 
the  City  Engineer,  it  appears  that  in  one  district  the  assessments 
varied  from  $2.98  for  each  lot  25  by  125  ft.  in  size  near  the 
parks  to  $1.16  for  the  more  remote  lots.  In  another  district 
they  ran  from  $5.09  to  $2.26  a  lot,  in  a  third  from  $33  to  50 
cents  a  lot,  while  in  the  fourth  district,  covering  the  central 
part  of  the  city  and  containing  the  civic  center  where  the  expen- 
diture for  this  purpose  was  nearly  three  million  dollars,  the 
assessments  ran  from  $1000  to  $3  a  lot.  The  initial  expenditure 
was  provided  for  by  the  issue  of  fifteen-year  bonds,  the  interest 
and  amortization  of  which  were  met  by  fifteen  annual  assessments 
upon  the  property  in  each  district.  The  cost  of  grading,  curb- 
ing and  paving  the  parkways  was  also  met  by  local  assess- 
ments imposed  in  decreasing  amount  upon  the  property  lying 
within  750  ft.  of  each  of  the  parkways. 

Instances  may  be  cited  where  towns  have  grown  very  rapidly 
and  have  developed  into  great  commercial  or  industrial  cities, 
although  their  plans  violate  almost  every  principle  laid  down 
by  city  planning  authorities.  Their  growth,  however,  has  been 
due  to  certain  natural  advantages  and  to  the  general  develop- 
ment and  prosperity  of  the  districts  tributary  to  them,  and 
they  have  grown  in  spite  of  the  handicap  of  a  poor  plan.  When 
its  defects  and  the  embarrassment  to  business  due  to  them  be- 
come apparent  vast  sums  are  often  spent  to  cure  the  defects  which 
might  have  been  discovered  and  avoided  had  sufficient  study 
been  given  to  the  plan  when  it  was  first  under  consideration, 
and  the  increased  cost  of  doing  business  for  a  period  of  years 
and  the  large  sums  spent  in  the  correction  of  the  plan  might 
have  been  saved.  The  cost  of  reconstruction  has  run  far  into 
the  milHons  in  nearly  every  large  city  except  Washington,  which 
was  so  planned  as  to  provide  for  future  growth.  To  give  figures 
for  different  towns  is  unnecessary,  but  the  total  would  be  stag- 
gering. The  beneficial  results  of  such  changes  as  have  been  made 
will  be  evident  upon  a  comparison  of  the  taxable  values  in  their 
vicinity  before  and  after  the  improvements  have  been  carried  out. 


182  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Estimates  of  the  losses  due  to  delays  caused  by  traffic  con- 
gestion, to  unnecessarily  long  hauls,  to  the  double  or  triple 
handling  of  goods  where  one  such  operation  might  have  sufficed, 
are,  as  already  stated,  unreliable,  although  they  have  been 
frequently  presented  as  arguments  in  favor  of  the  improvement 
of  existing  conditions.  If  a  million  passengers  are  carried  by 
surface  railways  or  omnibuses  each  day — and  this  number  is 
greatly  exceeded  in  several  large  cities — and  if  the  loss  in  time 
due  to  traffic  congestion  through  inadequate  street  capacity 
averages  ten  minutes  a  day,  the  total  daily  loss  of  time  would 
be  equivalent  to  20,833  working  days  of  eight  hours  each.  If 
the  average  pay  of  those  who  were  subjected  to  this  delay  is 
assumed  to  be  $3,  and  if  but  one-half  of  this  time  is  a  loss 
to  their  employers,  the  total  loss  in  productive  work  during 
a  year  of  300  working  days  would  be  $9,375,000,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  loss  of  efficiency  by  reason  of  worry  and  wear  and  tear 
in  reaching  their  places  of  employment.  This  would  represent 
five  per  cent  on  $187,500,000.  If  in  this  same  city  there  are 
60,000  horse  and  motor  trucks  that  are  subject  to  an  average 
delay  of  half  an  hour  a  day,  and  if  they  represent  a  cost  of 
$5  for  a  day  of  eight  hours,  their  loss  in  time,  all  of  which 
would  fall  upon  the  employer  or  owner,  would  represent  a  value 
of  $5,625,000  during  a  year  of  300  working  days,  which  is 
equivalent  to  five  per  cent  on  another  sum  of  $112,500,000. 
It  may  be  argued  that  the  expenditure  of  $300,000,000  would 
be  justified  if  these  losses  could  be  eliminated. 

While  such  arguments  are  of  little  real  value  they  are  fre- 
quently used ;  but  why  try  and  prove  by  figures  something  which  is 
so  evident  that  it  cannot  be  gainsaid?  If  improvements  to  correct 
such  defects  and  do  away  with  such  delays  were  not  worth  while, 
why  are  they  so  frequently  undertaken?  Why,  also,  is  it  that 
the  cities  which  have  the  courage  to  undertake  them  are  those 
which  are  conspicuous  for  their  rapid  increase  in  population 
and  wealth?  What  induced  them  to  undertake  such  great  and 
costly  improvements?  It  was  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  spend- 
ing public  funds  and  thus  increase  the  burdens  of  taxation. 


The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan  183 

It  was  because  they  had  found  that  it  paid  in  the  case  of  other 
improvements  and  believed  that  it  would  pay  again.  Did 
Paris  make  a  good  investment  when  it  expended  hundreds  of 
millions  of  francs  in  beautifying  the  city  and  making  it  a  more 
attractive  and  convenient  place  in  which  to  live  and  do  busi- 
ness? Ask  the  Parisians  and  see.  Ask  them  also  what  prompts 
them  to  consider  further  great  undertakings  of  this  kind,  unless 
it  is  due  to  the  beneficial  results  of  those  carried  out  under 
Haussmann.  Did  it  pay  Vienna  to  create  its  great  Ringstrasse 
and  place  along  it  the  important  state  and  city  buildings,  thus 
creating  one  of  the  show  streets  of  the  world?  Ask  the  Viennese 
and  see  what  they  will  say.  Did  it  pay  Dresden  to  build  along 
the  river  front  the  beautiful  Bruhle  Terrace,  which  has  been 
called  "  the  Balcony  of  Europe  "  ?  Did  Hamburg  find  it  profit- 
able to  expend  millions  in  deepening  the  Elbe  and  building  its 
great  docks  and  terminals?  Has  Frankfort  regretted  its  enter- 
prise in  developing  its  river  front  for  manufacturing  and  shipping 
terminals?  Have  the  German  cities  found  it  worth  while  to 
place  their  important  railway  terminals  where  they  will  make 
a  favorable  impression  upon  those  who  enter  and  leave  the 
cities  through  them,  to  provide  generous  open  spaces  in  front 
of  them  and  broad  avenues  leading  from  them?  Does  Cologne 
feel  that  it  has  acted  wisely  in  creating  great  circumferential 
boulevards  on  the  spaces  formerly  occupied  by  its  fortifications? 
Put  these  questions  to  the  people  of  these  cities  and  also  examine 
the  table  showing  the  growth  of  German  cities  from  1880  to  19 10, 
given  in  another  chapter,  and  there  will  be  no  uncertainty  as 
to  their  answers  or  as  to  the  reader's  conclusions. 

Have  the  various  improvements  carried  out  by  the  municipal 
authorities  of  London,  the  embankments  along  the  Thames  and 
the  tunnels  under  the  river,  the  creation  of  Queen  Victoria 
Street,  the  Strand-to-Holborn  improvement  and  the  extension 
of  port  facihties  been  profitable  investments?  Has  Edinburgh 
found  that  the  Princes  Street  Gardens  and  the  location  of  its 
two  principal  railway  stations,  so  that  the  visitor  arriving  at 
them  is  impressed  with  the  beauty  of  the  surroundings,  are  an 


\ 


184  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

asset  to  the  city?  Have  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio  de  Janeiro  been 
repaid  for  expending  large  sums  in  the  improvement  and  beauti- 
fication  of  their  water-fronts?  Has  Boston  begun  to  realize  on 
its  investment  in  a  comprehensive  park  system?  Has  New- 
York  found  or  does  it  expect  that  the  enormous  sums  expended 
on  its  new  water  supply  and  its  transit  system  will  be  a  good 
or  a  bad  bargain?  Does  Chicago  propose  to  recast  the  plan 
of  the  central  part  of  the  city  simply  for  the  applause  that 
will  come  to  it  for  its  courage,  or  because  it  expects  that  the 
improvements  will  bring  a  direct  return  to  the  city?  Do  Kansas 
City  and  Denver  regret  their  expenditures  for  park  and  parkway 
systems,  or  do  those  who  paid  special  assessments  for  them  wish 
they  could  get  their  money  back  and  give  up  the  parks  and 
parkways?  Dp  the  wonderful  cities  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  both 
in  the  United  States  and  British  Columbia,  feel  that  they  have 
gone  too  far  in  undertaking  great  and  costly  reconstruction 
and  betterments?     Ask  all  of  them  and  see  what  they  say. 

But  why  continue  to  put  questions,  the  answers  to  which 
are  self-evident?  Yes,  a  good  city  plan  pays.  The  benefits 
cannot  always  be  computed  in  money,  but  they  are  quite  ap- 
parent, and  every  town  which  has  tried  to  improve  its  plan 
seems  satisfied  that  it  has  done  a  wise  thing  and  would  not  go 
back  to  the  old  conditions ;  but  the  price  paid  has  been  a  heavy 
one  in  many  cases.  How  much  better  then  if  this  enormous 
cost  of  rearrangement  could  have  been  avoided  by  a  more 
careful  study  of  the  plan  when  it  was  first  worked  out.  That 
would  be  constructive  city  planning,  the  advantages  of  which 
cannot  be  computed  in  money,  but  which  can  readily  be  realized 
when  we  consider  the  enormous  expenses  which  have  been 
incurred  by  cities  where  this  preliminary  study  was  not  given 
and  where  the  corrections  had  to  be  made  at  a  subsequent 
time. 

There  is  one  other  result  of  improvements  which  will  facihtate 
business;  they  will  almost  always  bring  about  better  and  more 
wholesome  Hving  conditions  for  the  workers.  They  will  let  in 
the  light  and  air.    They  will  permit  the  toilers  to  spend  more 


The  Economic  Value  of  a  City  Plan  185 

of  their  time  at  home,  or,  with  the  same  expenditure  of  time, 
they  will  be  able  to  have  their  homes  farther  away  from  the 
noise  and  confusion  of  the  town  and  rear  their  families  amid 
better  sourroundings,  it  being  assumed  that  a  town  which  is 
capable  of  great  undertakings  to  improve  business  conditions 
will  be  equally  solicitous  as  to  the  Hving  conditions  of  its  people, 
and  will  see  that  the  streets  on  which  their  homes  are  located 
will  be  well  cared  for,  that  open  spaces  will  be  provided  for  their 
recreation,  and  that  good  drainage,  pure  water,  and  sanitary 
housing  will  be  insured  to  them.  These  should  be  theirs  by 
right  as  well  as  faciHties  for  conducting  business  are  the  rights 
of  the  merchant  and  the  manufacturer. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  TOWN  OR  DISTRICT 

'T^HE  industrial  town  differs  from  other  towns  and  the  indus- 
■^  trial  districts  of  any  town  differ  from  its  other  districts 
in  certain  respects.  A  greater  proportion  of  their  area  must  be 
given  over  to  the  mills,  shops  or  factories  where  are  fabricated 
the  articles  which  the  town  or  district  produces,  which  have 
created  its  prosperity  and  wealth  and  which  have  made  it 
known  abroad.  When  one  thinks  of  Pittsburgh  it  is  in  terms 
of  iron  and  steel  and  the  smoke  and  grime  that  always  go  with 
their  production.  Sheffield  suggests  cutlery;  Manchester,  cotton 
goods;  Lyons,  silk;  Essen,  ordnance  and  steel  forgings;  Grand 
Rapids,  furniture;  Minneapolis,  flour;  Omaha  and  Kansas  City, 
packing  houses  and  stock-yards.  The  larger  cities  have  such 
varied  industries  that  we  think  only  of  the  great  value  of  their 
manufactured  products  and  do  not  identify  them  with  any  par- 
ticular output,  yet  different  parts  of  these  cities  are  as  closely 
identified  with  certain  industries  and  activities  as  are  the 
smaller  towns  with  their  one  chief  product. 

While  certain  fundamental  principles  should  control  the 
planning  of  these  towns  or  districts  as  well  as  those  which  lack 
the  distinctive  label  of  iron,  cotton  goods,  furniture,  flour,  or 
whatever  it  may  be,  there  are  special  needs  which  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  working  out  their  plans.  Facilities  for 
the  expeditious  and  economical  receipt,  handling  and  shipment 
of  raw  materials  and  manufactured  products  must  be  pro- 
vided in  order  that  these  costs  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum 
and  a  greater  proportion  of  the  value  of  the  output  may  go 
to  the  labor  which  creates  it.  It  follows  that  ample  faciHties 
for  movement  by  rail  or  water  or  both  must  be  made  possible. 
The  workers  should  be  able  to  reach  their  places  of  employment 

186 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  187 

quickly  and  comfortably  and  should  be  assured  decent  and 
wholesome  dwellings,  in  order  that  they  may  render  efficient 
service.  Provision  must  be  made  for  their  homes  in  as  close 
proximity  to  the  plants  as  will  permit  such  conditions  to  be 
reahzed,  while  the  place  set  apart  for  these  homes  can  usually 
be  so  chosen  that  the  prevailing  winds  will  carry  the  smoke, 
fumes  and  gases  away  from  rather  than  towards  them.  A  mill 
and  factory  population  will  create  a  considerable  amount  of 
general  business  which  should  be  carried  on  even  more  economi- 
cally than  that  of  the  fashionable  shopping  districts;  it  will 
have  the  same  need  of  entertainment  and  recreation  as  will 
that  of  exclusively  residential  towns  and  districts.  While  these 
facilities  may  be  on  a  less  pretentious  scale,  the  needs  of  such 
a  population  are  proportionately  great,  and  ample  provision 
should  be  made  for  them. 

While  lack  of  planning  has  been  a  conspicuous  charac- 
teristic of  the  average  city,  it  has  nowhere  been  so  marked 
as  in  the  case  of  the  industrial  town.  The  person,  firm 
or  corporation  estabHshing  a  new  plant  is  quite  certain  to 
give  very  careful  consideration  to  the  suitability  of  the  site, 
the  transportation  facilities,  room  for  expansion  and  the  prob- 
ability of  an  adequate  supply  of  labor,  but  Uttle  thought 
appears  to  have  been  given  to  the  place  where  or  the  manner 
in  which  the  operatives  are  to  live.  Many  towns  offer  induce- 
ments of  various  kinds  to  manufacturers  to  establish  plants  in 
them,  these  sometimes  being  in  the  form  of  free  sites  or  exemp- 
tion from  taxation  for  a  term  of  years,  and  such  towns  realize 
that  every  new  plant  will  bring  additional  population  and 
increased  business.  How  the  newcomers  are  to  live  is  usually 
a  matter  of  indifference.  It  is  expected  that  they  will  make 
more  business  for  existing  shops,  and  the  suggestion  that  they 
should  be  well  housed  in  a  separate  quarter  convenient  to  their 
work  and  that  they  should  have  there  the  shops  to  supply  their 
household  needs  and  places  of  amusement  suited  to  their 
resources  will  doubtless  be  strongly  resented  by  those  who  may 
already  have  built  up  business  of  this  kind. 


188  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

It  occasionally  happens  that  an  industrial  plant  is  estab- 
lished in  a  location  remote  from  any  existing  city  and  where 
a  new  town  must  be  provided  to  furnish  homes  for  its  employees. 
An  opportunity  is  thus  presented  to  plan  in  a  rational  manner 
for  the  development  of  the  entire  town;  the  plant  itself  with 
adequate  shipping  and  handling  facihties;  homes  for  the  opera- 
tives and  for  the  principal  officers,  superintendents  and  tech- 
nical experts;  shops,  places  of  recreation  and  amusement,  schools 
and  buildings  for  the  conduct  of  the  administrative  business  of 
the  new  town  and  in  fact  for  every  phase  of  urban  Hfe.  In  the 
feverish  haste  to  get  things  started,  and  to  offset  by  earnings  the 
interest  on  capital  outlay,  little  thought  is  commonly  bestowed 
upon  anything  but  what  is  considered  the  productive  plant, 
the  town  being  left  to  grow  for  itself  or  to  be  exploited  by  real- 
estate  speculators  who  see  the  probabihty  or  the  certainty  of 
a  great  increase  in  land  values.  Instances  of  the  extraordinary 
advance  in  land  values  following  the  estabUshment  of  an  indus- 
trial center  are  given  by  Mr.  Graham  Romeyn  Taylor  in  his 
book  on  "  Satellite  Cities,"  which  graphically  describes  the 
physical  and  social  conditions  which  have  grown  up  about 
industrial  plants.^  One  of  them  is  that  of  the  land  purchased 
by  the  Corn  Products  Refining  Company  in  the  city  of  Chicago 
in  1879  for  $147,000.  When  the  plant  of  this  company  was 
removed  to  a  site  further  out  of  the  city  in  1908  an  offer  of 
$2,500,000  for  the  property  was  refused.  Another  case  is  that 
of  the  Pullman  Company,  which  stated  in  1893  that  the  time  was 
near  at  hand  when  the  $30,000,000  capital  stock  of  the  company 
would  be  covered  by  the  value  of  the  3500  acres  of  land  on 
which  the  town  was  built.  This  company,  however,  was  not 
permitted  to  reap  the  complete  advantage  of  this  enormous 
increase  in  land  values  for  the  reason  that  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Illinois  decided  that  its  charter  did  not  authorize  it 
to  engage  in  the  real  estate  business  cr  to  hold  any  real 
estate  beyond  that  required  for  its  manufacturing   business, 

iSome  of  the  statistical  information  in  the  following  pages  has  been  taken 
from  Mr.  Taylor's  book. 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  189 

and    it    was    obliged    to    abandon    the    role    of    real   estate 
operator. 

When  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  created  Gary, 
Indiana,  it  built  a  plant  which  is  undoubtedly  a  thoroughly 
modern  one,  and  so  arranged  as  to  reduce  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction to  a  minimum.  The  company  was  obliged  to  provide 
a  town  in  which  its  officers  and  operatives  might  live,  and  there 
was  much  comment  at  the  time  as  to  the  thoroughness  with 
which  this — that  is,  the  construction  work  connected  with  the 
establishment  of  the  new  town — was  being  done.  It  may  be 
that  the  corporation  did  not  realize  what  a  big  thing  it  was 
doing  and  how  important  a  city  it  was  founding.  At  any 
rate,  the  opportunity  to  establish  a  comprehensive  plan  was  not 
availed  of.  The  company  laid  out  and  kept  control  of  one 
limited  section  and  refused  to  profit  by  increased  values  at  the 
expense  of  its  employees.  The  growth  of  Gary  has  been  spec- 
tacular. In  the  spring  of  1906  the  site  was  simply  a  level 
stretch  of  land  with  a  few  scrub  oaks  and  an  occasional  pond 
or  swamp.  Within  three  years  a  great  steel  plant  and  haibor 
had  been  constructed  and  a  town  of  12,000  inhabitants  had 
grown  up  with  15  miles  of  paved  streets,  a  sewer  system,  water, 
gas,  an  electric  Hghting  plant,  banks,  hotels,  newspapers, 
schools  and  churches.  In  191 2  this  community  had  grown  to 
more  than  25,000  and  in  191 5  its  population  was  estimated  to 
be  40,000.  The  real  estate  speculators  saw  and  were  quite 
prompt  to  avail  themselves  of  their  chance,  •  and  a  series  of 
scattered  and  unrelated  developments  were  undertaken.  Fig. 
48  shows  very  plainly  what  happened,  and  how  an  admirable 
opportunity  was  lost  to  plan  and  build  a  real  city  which  might 
have  been  one  of  the  most  notable  of  its  kind.  It  does  not 
follow  that  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  did  not  make 
an  effort  to  establish  a  town  in  which  its  employees  could  find 
decent  and  sanitary  homes.  It  did  make  such  an  effort,  and  it 
was  not  simply  intent  upon  the  earliest  possible  dividends; 
it  had  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  the  men  in  its  service,  but 
it  did  not  go  far  enough  in  planning  the  original  town.     In  the 


190 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City- 


design  of  the  plant  the  greatest  foresight  and  ingenuity  were 
exercised  in  order  to  render  the  handling  of  material  as  eco- 
nomical and  expeditious  as  possible.  Every  shop  and  other 
building  was  so  located  that  spur  tracks  could  be  run  into  or 
alongside  of  it,  with  such  curves  as  would  reduce  to  the  lowest 
limit  the  tractive  force  required  to  move  cars.  Wherever 
there  was  an  opportunity  for  a  short-cut  it  was  availed  of.     In 


Fig.  48. — Plan  of  Gary,  Ind.,  the  industrial  town  established  by  the  U.  S. 
Steel  Corporation. 

the  plan  for  the  town,  however,  no  such  foresight  appears  to 
have  been  displayed.  The  workers  in  going  from  their  homes 
to  their  labor  and  back  have  no  direct  routes  which  they  can 
follow,  and  the  facihty  of  movement,  so  well  provided  in  laying 
out  the  plant,  was  entirely  overlooked  so  far  as  the  conduct  of 
the  miscellaneous  business  of  the  town  was  concerned.  The 
land  company,  a  subsidiary  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corpora- 
tion, which  laid  out  the  first  subdivision,  attempted  to  plan  the 
town,  but  with  indifferent  success.     While  in  designing  the 


PLATE  50 


rt 


<  •= 


PLATE  61 


Plan  of  an  industrial  town  established  by  the  Minnesota  Steel  Co.  near 
Duluth,  Minn.  This  and  the  upper  view  on  PI.  52  are  reproduced  from  a  plan 
and  photograph  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Owen  Brainard,  Consulting  Engineer 
(p.  191)- 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  191 


plant  the  best  expert  advice  was  secured,  it  did  not  occur  to 
them  to  retain  the  services  of  a  city  planning  expert  to  work 
out  the  plan  for  the  town,  and  already  Gary,  like  older  towns, 
has  begun  to  appreciate  the  need  of  securing  such  advice  in  order 
that  it  already  may  begin  the  correction  of  its  mistakes.  And 
yet  the  original  town  possesses  some  excellent  features.  Build- 
ing lines  from  20  to  35  ft.  back  of  the  street  lines  have  been 
established  for  all  but  the  chief  business  streets,  several  parks 
have  been  created  and  some  of  the  pubhc  and  semi-pubHc  build- 
ings have  been  effectively  grouped.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
occupation  of  the  entire  lake  front  by  the  steel  plant  has  made  it 
impossible  to  provide  any  water-front  park  for  the  use  of  the 
people.  But  Gar}'  has  done  some  notable  things.  Her  school 
system,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  William  A.  Wirt,  has  become 
known  throughout  the  educational  world  as  the  "  Gary  Plan," 
and  is  being  adopted  elsewhere  as  one  which  v/ill  permit  the 
most  effective  use  of  the  school  plant  as  a  social  as  well  as  an 
educational  agency. 

That  this  corporation  realizes  what  might  have  been  but 
was  not  done  at  Gary  appears  evident  from  the  course  fol- 
lowed by  one  of  its  subsidiary  companies  in  the  establishment 
of  another  industrial  town  on  the  outskirts  of  Duluth.  Here  a 
town  plan  has  been  evolved  to  accommodate  the  workers  in 
the  steel  mills  and  cement  plant  which  have  been  built,  the 
general  features  of  which  are  shown  by  the  illustrations  (Pis. 
51  and  52). 

The  considerations  which  should  control  the  establishment 
of  a  residential  district  in  connection  with  a  manufacturing 
plant  have  been  outlined  by  Mr.  Owen  Brainard,  of  the  firm  of 
Carrere  &  Hastings,  who  were  advisers  on  the  plan  for  the 
Duluth  development,  somewhat  as  follows: 

Given  the  probable  number  of  employees  of  a  plant,  pro- 
vision should  be  made  for  a  town  to  accommodate  three  or  four 
times  that  number,  that  being  the  probable  ratio  of  total  popula- 
tion to  total  number  of  workers  in  the  plant.  The  development 
should  be  progressive  and  should  begin  with  provision  for  hous- 


192  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

ing  the  workmen  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  plant.  The 
boundary  of  the  development  should  be  marked  by  some  dis- 
tinguishing feature — rows  of  trees  or  open  spaces.  In  the 
working  out  of  a  street  plan  account  should  be  taken  of  existing 
public  roads.  The  principal  streets  should  be  of  liberal  width 
and  lead  to  the  entrances  to  the  plant.  Secondary  streets  should 
be  50  ft.  wide,  with  roadways  of  24  ft.  or  less  in  some  cases. 
All  street  roadways  should  be  paved,  using  such  local  material 
as  is  available  if  it  is  adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  trees  on  the 
tract  should  be  saved  wherever  possible  and  a  general  scheme 
of  tree  planting  should  be  worked  out  and  begun  at  an  early 
stage.  In  designating  the  streets,  names  should  be  selected 
which  would  be  related  to  the  local  history  and  the  history 
of  the  development  of  the  industry  to  be  provided  for.  Dwell- 
ings should  be  so  designed  that  they  can  be  built  and  maintained 
at  a  cost  which  will  permit  rentals  lower  than  could  be  offered 
by  other  land  developers  in  the  vicinity,  particular  attention 
being  devoted  to  the  supply  of  houses  for  the  lowest  paid  labor. 
Sites  should^  be  provided  for  schools  and  pubUc  buildings, 
suitably  grouped  where  the  use  for  which  they  are  designed 
renders  such  grouping  practicable.  A  building  code  and  a 
sanitary  code  should  be  carefully  worked  out  for  the  new  town, 
and  it  should  be  so  reasonable  and  at  the  same  time  so  effective 
that,  if  the  development  is  absorbed  by  some  municipality, 
these  codes  will  be  likely  to  be  respected  and  continued. 

In  marked  contrast  with  most  of  the  communities  that  have 
grown  up  about  manufacturing  plants  is  the  new  industrial 
town  of  Fairfield  near  Birmingham,  Alabama.  In  this  case  as 
much  care  and  forethought  appears  to  have  been  bestowed 
upon  the  planning  of  the  town  as  upon  the  advantageous  loca- 
tion of  the  steel  plant.  The  corporation  did  not  attempt  to 
finance  the  building  of  the  town,  nor  did  it  permit  it  to  be  ex- 
ploited by  land  companies  which  had  no  special  interest  in  its 
future.  A  land  company  was  organized  among  a  group  of  men 
whose  first  interest  appears  to  have  been  to  plan  a  suitable 
town  and  whose  first  move  was  to  secure  the  services  of  an 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  193 

expert  in  town  planning.  The  plan  was  worked  out  with  much 
care  and  was  made  to  fit  the  topography;  the  main  streets  were 
given  an  adequate  width;  sites  were  selected  for  public  build- 
ings which  would  form  an  effective  group  about  a  generous 
plaza ;  suitable  restrictions  as  to  heights,  building  lines  and  use 
were  imposed  under  a  zoning  system.  The  building  lots  are  of 
good  size,  with  provision  for  kitchen  gardens  in  the  rear,  and  a 
scheme  of  tree  and  shrub  planting  was  worked  out  in  advance. 
It  is  said  that  the  object  lessons  afforded  by  Fairfield  have 
aheady  had  a  marked  effect  in  the  improvement  of  conditions 
in  Birmingham  and  the  smaller  towns  in  its  vicinity. 

Writers  and  speakers  on  city  planning  and  housing  fre- 
quently draw  rather  startling  contrasts  between  the  worst 
conditions  which  can  be  found  in  industrial  towns  of  their 
own  country  and  the  best  which  has  been  done  in  other  countries. 
They  Hke  to  show  pictures  of  the  most  distressing  living  con- 
ditions in  Pittsburgh  and  Fall  River  side  by  side  with  those 
of  the  workmen's  cottages  at  Essen,  and  give  the  impression  that 
the  manufacturing  towns  in  the  United  States  are  examples 
of  hopelessly  bad  planning  and  utter  indifference  on  the  part  of 
employers  to  the  manner  in  which  their  workmen  live,  while 
similar  towns  in  other  countries  are  models  of  what  ought  to 
be.  The  facts  are  frequently  bad  enough.  The  housing  is 
often  desperately  bad,  and  statements  that  employees  frequently 
elect  to  hve  in  the  most  crowded  and  unwholesome  quarters 
which  are  available,  if  by  so  doing  they  can  save  a  small  sum  in 
rent,  even  though  their  pay  would  enable  them  to  secure  better 
accommodations,  are  probably  based  upon  actual  facts.  Cor- 
porations and  individuals  who  have  tried  to  promote  good 
living  conditions  and  an  attractive  environment  for  their 
employees  and  have  endeavored  by  well-intended  and  appar- 
ently reasonable  regulations  to  insure  the  maintenance  of 
these  standards  have  encountered  a  spirit  of  resentment  at 
what  was  thought  to  be  too  much  paternalism  or  an  inter- 
ference with  the  freedom  of  their  workmen.  A  notable  instance 
of  this  feeHng  is  afforded  by  Pulhnan.    The  failure  of  this 


194  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

experiment  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  model 
town  which  was  created  was  founded  upon  paternahsm.  The 
company  was  autocratic  in  its  control  of  the  living  conditions 
of  its  employees  and,  while  it  exercised  a  benevolent  despotism, 
it  could  not  win  the  confidence  and  co-operation  of  the  men, 
and  the  dream  of  its  founder  was  effectually  shattered  by  the 
great  strike  which  occurred  within  the  decade  following  the 
estabhshment  of  the  town. 

Between  this  control  by  the  employer,  whose  interest  in  the 
employee  is  sincere,  though  not  wholly  unselfish,  and  exploi- 
tation by  the  real-estate  developer,  whose  interest  ceases  when  his 
last  lot  has  been  sold,  there  seems  but  one  other  course;  that  is, 
co-operative  ownership  and  control  on  the  part  of  the  employees 
themselves.  This  has  been  most  successful  in  Great  Britain  and 
Germany,  where  they  have  been  able  to  secure  the  use  of  large 
funds  at  very  low  rates  of  interest,  the  State  itself  often  supply- 
ing the  money.  This  has  not  yet  been  done  in  the  United 
States,  but  it  may  be  possible  for  such  co-operative  enterprises 
to  be  carried  out  through  the  aid  of  Building  and  Loan  associ- 
ations which  have  been  very  successful  in  this  country  and  which 
would  be  unlikely  to  arouse  suspicion  or  distrust  on  the  part 
of  the  workmen. 

While  new  industrial  towns  have  been  started  and  have 
grown  in  a  spectacular  fashion,  there  is  a  movement  constantly 
under  way  which  is  even  more  significant  from  a  city  planning 
point  of  view.  Many  manufacturing  concerns  which  were 
originally  located  in  large  and  growing  cities,  influenced  no  doubt 
by  the  prospect  of  an  adequate  supply  of  labor,  have  found  it 
impossible  to  expand  with  increasing  business.  They  have 
found  themselves  hemmed  in  by  a  rigid  and  inflexible  street 
system  which  would,  if  they  overlapped  the  original  city  block 
or  blocks  on  which  they  first  located,  divide  the  plant  into  several 
separate  units  when  there  should  be  but  one,  render  it  impossi- 
ble to  extend  their  railway  tracks,  and  the  cost  of  operation  is 
increased.  The  situation  becoming  intolerable,  they  have 
concluded  to  scrap  the  buildings  and  such  of  the  equipment  as 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  195 

could  not  be  removed  and  go  farther  out  where  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  street  system  to  hem  them  in;  but  they  have  removed 
only  the  plant  and  have  made  no  provision  for  their  employees, 
who  were  obliged  to  follow  as  best  they  could,  retaining  their 
old  homes  in  the  city  and  travelling  the  five,  ten  or  more  miles 
into  the  country  for  their  work.  Rarely  has  any  attempt  been 
made  to  provide  homes  for  the  workmen  which  would  permit 
them  to  live  comfortably  in  close  proximity  to  their  places  of 
employment.  Cities  have  thus  lost  one  industry  after  another 
as  the  result  of  defective  and  unadjustable  plans.  The  com- 
panies have  left  to  chance,  or  to  others  who  see  an  opportunity 
for  profit,  the  provision  of  homes  for  their  workmen,  and  other 
shabby  and  insanitary  industrial  districts  are  in  process  of 
development. 

The  tendency  of  manufacturing  establishments  to  locate 
on  the  outskirts  of  cities  is  shown  by  the  report  of  the  Census 
Bureau.  In  thirteen  industrial  districts,  each  of  which  covers 
a  large  city  and  its  vicinity,  the  increase  during  the  ten  years 
from  1899  to  1909  in  the  number  of  workers  in  the  cities  them- 
selves was  40.8  per  cent,  while  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
workers  in  the  surrounding  zones  was  97,7  per  cent.  There 
are  cases  where  factory  employees  are  unable  to  find  homes  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  work,  owing  to  the  high  class  of  the  develop- 
ment. Such  unusual  conditions  exist  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cincinnati.  A  number  of  large  manufacturing  plants  have 
been  located  in  suburbs  outside  the  city  Hmits.  These  suburbs 
have  attractive  sites  and  the  working  conditions  are  exceedingly 
favorable,  but  during  the  decade  or  more  since  they  were  estab- 
lished little  has  been  done  to  provide  homes  for  their  operatives. 
Some  houses  and  flats  designed  to  be  within  the  means  of  fac- 
tory workers  were  erected,  but  the  real  estate  men  and  builders 
found  that  there  was  more  profit  in  building  houses  of  a  better 
class  to  accommodate  Cincinnati  business  men  who  wish  to 
live  in  the  suburbs.  Meanwhile  nearly  half  of  the  employees 
of  these  plants  have  their  homes  in  the  tenement  districts  of 
Cincinnati  and  travel  to  their  work  in  the  suburbs  every  morning 


196  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  back  every  night,  while  about  five  per  cent  are  said  to  live 
across  the  Ohio  River  in  Kentucky.  We  have  here  the  anoma- 
lous position  of  an  industrial  suburb  which  has  become  an 
attractive  residential  district  for  those  in  no  way  connected  with 
the  industries  about  which  these  suburbs  have  been  built. 

How  is  the  industrial  town  or  district  to  be  saved  from  the 
kind  of  development  which,  with  a  few  conspicuous  exceptions, 
has  characterized  most  of  them?  It  seems  quite  clear  that  the 
trouble  has  been  due  to  the  exploitation  of  the  land  by  specu- 
lators who  have  been  intent  on  getting  out  as  quickly  as  possible 
with  a  handsome  profit.  In  cases  where  the  industrial  corpora- 
tion has  itself  attempted  to  control  the  development  of  the 
town  as  well  as  the  plant  it  has  either  become  an  exploiter  of 
the  land  itself  or,  if  it  has  made  an  earnest  effort  to  create  an 
attractive  town  and  wholesome  surroundings  for  its  employees, 
the  latter  have  distrusted  its  motives  or  have  resented  the 
paternalistic  spirit  in  which  its  plans  were  carried  out.  Pro- 
prietary towns,  dependent  for  their  existence  upon  a  single 
industry,  are  likely  to  be  seriously  affected  by  the  development 
of  ill-will  on  the  part  of  the  citizen-workmen  toward  the 
individual  or  corporation  which  not  only  estabhshed  the  town 
but  tries  to  administer  its  affairs.  Permanent  success  is  more 
likely  if  the  planning  of  the  town,  the  regulation  of  the  use  of 
property,  and  the  entire  conduct  of  the  public  business  are  left 
to  some  duly  constituted  authority,  if  there  be  one,  whose 
jurisdiction  covers  or  can  be  extended  to  include  the  territory 
within  which  the  development  is  located,  or,  even  if,  as  in  the 
case  of  Fairfield,  the  entire  business  is  turned  over  to  some 
agency  in  which  the  individual  or  corporate  proprietor  is  known 
to  have  no  financial  and  perhaps  not  even  a  philanthropic 
interest.  Many  such  enterprises  have  been  estabhshed  within 
the  Umits  of  municipal  corporations  which  have  manifested  little 
interest  in  the  orderly  development  of  the  part  of  the  town  in 
which  they  may  have  been  located  and  have  shown  little  capacity 
to  solve  the  problems  of  planning  and  administration,  if  they 
made  the  attempt.    There  have  been  so  many  examples  of  the 


PLATE  52 


View  showing  the  type  of  workmen's  houses  erected  in  the  industrial  town 
near  Duluth,  the  general  plan  of  which  is  shown  on  PI.  51  (p,  191). 


Cottages  in  Colony  Gewerkschaft,  Emscher-Lippe.  This  and  the  views  on 
Pis.  53  and  54  and  the  plans  on  PL  55  are  reproduced  from  a  descriptive  book 
published  by  the  Krupp  Co.  in  1911  (pp.  197  and  301). 


PLATE  53 


Cottages  in  Colony  Altenhof,  Essen,  where  superannuated  employees  of  the 
Krupp  Co.  are  provided  with  houses  free  of  rent  (pp.  197  and  301). 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  197 

heavy  penalties  which  such  towns  have  had  to  pay  for  their 
indifference  or  incompetence  and  a  few  such  conspicuous  in- 
stances of  the  great  value  of  foresight  in  planning  and  admin- 
istration that  there  has  been  an  awakening  as  to  their  respon- 
sibilities and  opportunities. 

In  cases  where  a  new  town  is  established  outside  the  limits 
of  or  remote  from  an  existing  municipal  corporation  the  problem 
is  more  difficult.  Even  if  an  intelligent  plan  may  have  been 
established,  the  administration  of  the  town's  public  business 
and  the  regulation  of  its  further  development  cannot  be  safely 
entrusted  to  its  citizens,  among  whom  there  will  be  no  men 
trained  in  municipal  affairs.  Leaders  will  come  to  the  front, 
but  they  will  scarcely  be  capable  of  dealing  wisely  with  the  in- 
tricate problems  which  will  present  themselves  for  solution.  If 
a  capable,  strong  and  experienced  municipal  business  manager 
is  ever  needed  it  is  in  a  case  Uke  this;  but  there  is  no  body  of 
citizens  less  Hkely  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  such  a  method 
of  conducting  public  business  or  less  willing  to  submit  themselves 
to  such  a  system  than  the  population  of  a  newly  established 
industrial  community. 

There  are  some  conspicuously  successful  industrial  towns 
in  Europe,  and  their  success  has  been  attained  in  different  ways. 
Three  typical  towns  developed  under  three  distinctly  different 
systems  will  be  briefly  referred  to.  Perhaps  there  is  no  better 
instance  of  unresented  j)aternalism  than  is  to  be  found  in  Essen. 
The  various  colonies  established  by  the  Krupp  Company  are 
admirable  instances  of  town  planning,  as  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  Pis.  5 2,  53,  54  and  55,  but  these  colonies  cover  a  relatively 
small  part  of  the  city,  which  in  the  spring  of  19 14  had  a  popula- 
tion of  about  325,000,  and  which  had  increased  over  170  per  cent 
in  the  preceding  fourteen  years.  Even  Essen  itseK  is  a  Krupp 
city,  the  entire  public  business  of  which,  under  the  system  of 
voting  prevalent  in  some  German  cities,  is  almost  completely 
controlled  by  this  great  corporation.  That  control  is  intelli- 
gent, and  Essen  is  an  unusually  attractive  city.  Its  affairs 
are  administered  by  the  City  Council,  but  in  1900,  according  to 


198  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Mr.  Frederic  C.  Howe,  one-third  of  the  members  of  that  council 
were  elected  by  three  persons  who  were  doubtless  the  principal 
owners  of  the  Krupp  works,  another  one-third  was  elected  by 
401  persons,  a  considerable  majority  of  whom  probably  have 
an  interest  in  the  company,  while  the  remaining  one-third 
were  chosen  by  the  other  19,000  and  odd  electors.  The  plan 
of  the  town,  the  street  details,  the  location  of  pubHc  build- 
ings, and  even  the  development  of  private  property  are  rigidly 
controlled  by  Dr.  R.  Schmidt,  the  accomphshed  chief  engineer- 
ing official  of  the  city. 

In  Letchworth,  England,  we  find  an  example  of  a  town  which, 
while  plarmed  and  generally  known  as  a  garden  city,  is  far 
more  than  that.  It  not  only  provides  homes  but  employment, 
having  set  apart  sites  for  industrial  establishments  and  having 
brought  such  establishments  to  the  sites.  Further  than  that, 
an  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  a  diversity  of  industries,  so 
that  the  working  population  is  not  as  likely  to  suffer  from  inac- 
tivity in  or  the  entire  suspension  of  a  certain  kind  of  produc- 
tion as  would  be  the  case  were  they  all  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  steel,  woollen  goods,  furniture,  or  some  other  single 
output.  Here  we  have  an  admirable  example  of  collective 
planning  and  control.  The  original  capital  was  suppHed  by  a 
group  of  individuals  who  were  interested  in  the  success  of  the 
plan  and  who  were  content  to  invest  their  money  at  a  low  rate 
of  interest  and  were  willing  that  the  people  who  came  to  the 
town  for  their  homes  and  their  livelihood  should  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  the  increase  in  land  values  which  resulted  from  their  presence 
and  their  labor. 

In  Birmingham,  England,  we  find  one  of  the  best  instances 
of  the  exercise  of  wise  control  by  the  municipal  corporation  it- 
self of  its  industrial  development.  Birmingham's  corporate 
limits  have  been  so  extended  as  to  take  in  outlying  industrial 
towns,  some  of  which  had  already  been  started  in  an  admirable 
manner;  but  the  city  did  not  confine  itself  to  extending  its 
territory;  it  has  set  about  the  improvement  of  the  older  parts 
of  the  city,  the  better  placing  of  its  public  buildings,  the  improve- 


The  Industrial  Town  or  District  199 

ment  of  its  transit  system,  adequate  water  supply  and  drain- 
age, and  the  betterment  of  housing  conditions.  No  one  man  or 
group  of  men  or  no  great  corporation  has  brought  this  about, 
but  the  city  itseK  has  done  it.  Able  leadership  there  has  been, 
of  course;  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  in  the  establishment  of 
wise  municipal  policies,  and  Mr.  J.  S.  Nettlefold,  in  an  aggressive 
movement  for  improved  housing,  have  rendered  splendid 
service;  but  the  citizens  have  found  that  these  things  are  worth 
while  and  are  now  taking  advantage  of  the  opportunities  which 
are  afforded  by  the  British  Town  Planning  Act  to  further 
improve  existing  conditions  and  insure  orderly  growth. 

Many  other  towns  might  be  referred  to,  some  of  which  ha\'e 
been  planned  as  gaiden  cities,  but  have  already  become  or  are 
becoming  industrial  towns,  and  it  is  difficult  to  classify  them. 
Garden  cities  have  usually  been  started  as  home  communities 
rather  than  as  industrial  centers,  and  they  are  so  considered  in 
another  chapter.  The  economical  planning  of  manufacturing 
plants  can  safely  be  left  to  the  industrial  corporations,  but  they 
have  been  slow  to  realize  that  the  plant  which  they  may  establish 
will  need  for  its  real  success  a  well-housed  and  decently  Hving 
community  upon  which  to  draw  for  their  labor,  while  the  town 
in  which  the  plant  is  located  must  wake  up  to  the  fact  that, 
while  the  plant  itseK  may  be  a  valuable  contributor  to  its 
prosperity,  an  orderly  community  of  workers  in  an  orderly 
and  attractive  part  of  the  city  is  a  still  more  valuable  addition 
to  its  citizenship,  while  disease,  disorder  and  unrest,  which 
are  fostered  by  disorderly  streets,  bad  sanitation  and  over- 
intensive  building,  are  a  menace  to  the  community,  will  give 
the  town  a  bad  name  and  add  greatly  to  the  municipal  tax 
budget. 


CHAPTER  XI 

STREET  TRAFFIC 

AS  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  purpose  of  the  city  street 
is  twofold:  to  provide  light  and  air  and  afford  access  to 
the  abutting  property;  to  provide  accommodation  for  such 
traffic  as  may  pass  through  the  street,  but  the  origin  and  desti- 
nation of  which  may  be  elsewhere,  the  route  followed  being 
that  of  least  resistance  in  the  case  of  business  traffic,  or  that 
which  is  most  agreeable  in  the  case  of  pleasure  traffic.  The 
relative  amount  of  local  and  through  traffic  will  vary  greatly 
in  different  streets,  and  even  in  the  same  street,  from  day  to 
day,  according  to  weather  and  other  conditions.  This  mixed 
traffic  is  a  fruitful  source  of  controversy,  especially  where  the 
cost  of  the  first  pavement  or  renewals,  or  any  part  thereof,  is 
assessed  against  the  abutting  property,  the  owners  of  which 
protest  against  paying  for  road  improvements  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  what  they  call  "  alien  traffic." 

The  problem  of  making  provision  for  transportation  by 
natural  routes  or  by  routes  exclusively  devoted  to  the  purpose, 
whether  on  property  especially  acquired  for  its  accommodation 
or  above  or  beneath  pubfic  streets,  has  been  treated  in  the 
chapter  on  Transportation,  and  under  street  traffic  considera- 
tion will  be  confined  to  free  wheel  and  pedestrian  traffic  and 
that  by  surface  railways,  which  affect  the  more  ordinary  uses 
of  the  streets.  In  the  small  town  the  problem  is  a  simple  one, 
and  the  increase  of  traffic  which  occurs  on  certain  days  adds 
a  degree  of  fife  and  interest  which  is  an  agreeable  change  from 
the  monotony  of  existence  in  a  provincial  town.  As  the  town 
becomes  a  city,  and  as  the  city  continues  to  grow,  the  increase 
of  traffic  results  in    congestion  with  its  attendant  delays  and 

200 


Street  TraflSc     '  201 


dangers.  The  time  comes  when  the  free  and  irresponsible 
movement  of  vehicles  must  give  way  to  a  certain  degree  of 
control,  and  intelUgent  police  control  has  accomplished  much 
in  avoiding  both  danger  and  delay.  Rules  for  traffic  regulation 
are  frequently  resented  when  first  imposed,  but  they  are  soon 
found  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  both  the  public  and  the 
individual  and  are  then  accepted  and  respected.  The  sight,  once 
so  common  at  busy  street  intersections  in  great  cities,  of  a  mass 
of  vehicles  headed  in  every  direction,  with  interlocked  wheels, 
and  with  cursing  drivers  venting  their  bad  tempers  on  dis- 
tracted horses  under  the  eyes  of  helpless  police,  with  entire 
cessation  of  movement  for  many  minutes,  is  now  so  rarely  seen 
as  to  excite  wonder  and  disgust.  The  improvement  in  con- 
ditions resulting  from  police  regulation  is  so  obvious  that  one 
is  now  surprised  that  it  was  not  earlier  resorted  to.  While  such 
regulation  has  accompUshed  much,  the  constantly  increasing 
volume  of  traffic  on  many  thoroughfares  will  soon  require  other 
reHef  which  seems  possible  only  through  the  provision  of  addi- 
tional or  the  widening  of  existing  roads.  The  problem  to-day, 
as  stated  in  the  report  for  19 13  of  the  London  Traffic  Branch 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  is  "  to  pass  by  artificial  regidation  through 
existing  streets  of  inadequate  capacity  with  safety  to  both 
passengers  and  pedestrians  a  larger  volume  of  traffic  than  the 
streets  would  accommodate  were  the  movement  of  vehicles 
and  pedestrians  left  uncontrolled." 

The  electrically  operated  suiface  railway,  which  has  become 
so  efficient  a  means  of  transportation  in  the  streets,  while 
carrying  a  greater  number  of  passengers  than  any  other  vehicle, 
has  pre-empted  to  its  own  use  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
roadways,  and  interferes  very  seriously  with  free-wheel  vehicle 
traffic,  which  the  streets  would  otherwise  be  called  upon  to 
accommodate. 

In  no  city  have  the  problems  of  street  traffic  attracted  so 
much  attention,  and  it  is  probable  that  in  no  city  are  they  so 
serious  as  in  London,  and  some  space  can  properly  be  devoted 
to  their  consideration.     The  surface  railway  system  of  London  is 


202  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

confined  almost  entirely  to  outlying  districts,  and  the  surface  lines, 
although  owned  and  operated  by  the  London  County  Council, 
do  not  enter  the  square  mile  of  territory  known  as  "  the  city," 
and  are  excluded  from  Westminster,  except  for  a  short  dis- 
tance under  the  Kingsway  and  along  the  Thames  Embankment 
and  from  other  large  areas  where  the  traffic  is  dense.  Advocates 
of  the  trolley  street  railway  may  contend  that  if  these  lines  were 
allowed  to  traverse  all  parts  of  the  city,  London's  tiaffic  problem 
would  be  less  serious.  The  streets,  however,  are  for  the  most 
part  narrow  and  could  not  accommodate  double- track  lines,  while 
even  single-track  railways  would  be  practically  impossible.  The 
omnibuses  are  popular  and  cheap  for  short  distances,  and  the 
passenger  transportation  service  of  London  has  developed 
chiefly  as  a  free-wheel  system  (PL  56).  Since  motor  buses  have 
displaced  those  drawn  by  horses,  the  efficiency  of  this  system 
has  been  enormously  increased.  In  London,  as  in  other  cities, 
the  number  of  passengers  carried  appears  to  increase  much  more 
rapidly  than  the  population  and  to  depend  rather  upon  the 
facilities  offered  than  upon  the  number  of  people  to  use  such 
facilities.  The  London  Tiaffic  Branch  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
gives  the  increase  in  the  number  of  passengeis  carried  in  19 13 
over  the  number  carried  in  1903  as  50.1  per  cent  by  the  under- 
ground railways,  102.2  per  cent  by  the  surface  railways,  91.9 
per  cent  by  omnibuses,  and  the  total  number  of  journeys  per 
head,  excluding  those  by  trunk-line  railways,  as  having  increased 
68.3  per  cent,  while  during  the  same  period  the  population  of 
Greater  London  increased  but  nine  per  cent.  In  studying  these 
figures  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  development  of  the 
surface  railway  system  is  quite  recent,  that  the  underground 
railways  were  in  successful  operation  by  1903,  and  that  the  use 
of  omnibuses,  which  were  first  introduced  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  long  ago  became  a  well-established  habit  in 
London;  and  yet  of  the  total  number  of  passengers  carried 
by  the  above  means  of  conveyance  in  19 13,  the  underground 
railways  accommodated  24.4  per  cent,  the  surface  railways 
44.7  per  cent,  and  the  omnibuses  30.9  per  cent.     It  is  therefore 


Street  Traffic  203 


apparent  that  the  London  tramways,  even  though  excluded 
from  the  portions  of  the  city  where  the  trafl&c  is  most  dense, 
carry  more  passengers  than  either  the  underground  or  the  omni- 
buses, although  an  average  yearly  increase  of  more  than  fifty- 
three  millions  in  the  total  number  of  passengers  carried  by  the 
tramways  for  eight  years  preceding  191 1  was  changed  to  a 
decrease  of  24,332,160  in  1912. 

An  important  phase  of  the  traffic  problem  is  the  competition 
of  the  privately  owned  omnibus  lines  with  the  publicly  owned 
surface  railway  or  tramway  lines  and  even  with  the  trunk-line 
railroads  cany^ing  suburban  traffic.  It  appears  that  in  1902 
five  of  the  trunk  lines  having  their  termini  in  London  carried 
352,555,560  passengers,  exclusive  of  holders  of  season  tickets, 
and  that  this  number  steadily  decreased  until  1909,  when  it  was 
298,193,805.  There  was  a  recovery  to  about  311,000,000  in 
1910  and  to  319,000,000  in  1911,  with  a  drop  to  309,490,247  in 
1912.  While  the  decrease  in  the  number  of  passengers  carried 
from  1902  to  1909  was  15.4  per  cent,  the  decrease  in  gross  pas- 
senger receipts,  excluding  season  tickets,  was  but  3.3  per  cent, 
indicating  that  the  loss  in  cheap  suburban  traffic  may  have  been 
more  than  made  good  by  long-distance  travel,  although  there 
may  have  been  a  loss  in  net  receipts.  This  competition  by  the 
omnibus  lines  is  not  confined  to  the  fully  developed  districts, 
but  appears  constantly  to  extend  further  from  the  central  part 
of  the  city. 

The  tramway  lines  are  more  seriously  affected.  These,  as 
already  stated,  are  owned  and  operated  by  the  London  County 
Council,  and  every  effort  has  been  made  to  attract  business. 
Large  signs  on  the  cars  and  elsewhere  announce  that  "  The 
quickest  way  is  the  tramway,"  or  "  The  best  way  is  the 
tramway."  Yet  not  only  the  London  lines  but  the  tramways 
operated  by  other  Urban  District  Councils  within  the  Metro- 
pohtan  area  are  run  at  a  loss,  and  they  are  confronted  with  a 
very  serious  financial  problem.  They  suffer  from  the  com- 
petition of  the  omnibus  lines,  which  have  advantages  over  them 
that    seem    very  unfair.     Tramway  fines,   although    pubficly 


204  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

owned  and  operated,  are  obliged  to  contribute  to  the  upkeep 
and  improvement  of  the  streets  traversed  by  them,  besides 
being  substantially  taxed  for  their  roadbeds.  Of  37  street 
improvements  in  progress  but  not  completed  in  1910,  22  were 
on  streets  in  which  there  were  surface  railway  tracks,  and  the 
London  County  Council,  as  the  owner  of  these  tracks,  con- 
tributed from  one-fourth  to  two-thirds  of  the  cost  of  the  improve- 
ments, or  about  $1,546,500  out  of  a  total  of  $4,309,800,  or  nearly 
36  per  cent.  The  omnibus  companies,  on  the  other  hand, 
appear  to  contribute  nothing  toward  the  expense  of  constructing 
or  repaving  the  streets  through  which  they  run  and  to  be  unre- 
restricted  as  to  their  routes  or  as  to  the  fares  charged.  The 
vehicles,  drivers  and  conductors  are  Hcensed  by  the  MetropoUtan 
Police  and  are  subject  to  certain  regulations,  while  the  omni- 
buses are  registered  as  heavy  motor  cars  and  their  drivers  are 
obliged  to  obtain  licenses  from  the  London  County  Council; 
but  the  revenues  derived  from  these  sources  are  very  small. 
The  tax  on  gasolene  is  high  in  Great  Britain,  but  the  receipts 
go  to  the  General  Government  and  are  in  large  part  turned  over 
to  the  Road  Board  for  its  use  over  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  omnibus  system  has  a  great  advantage  in  its  flexibility. 
It  can  concentrate  its  vehicles  on  certain  routes  where  there 
may  be  a  temporary  increase  in  traffic;  it  can  lengthen  some  of 
its  Hnes  into  the  suburbs  on  Sundays  and  holidays  and  curtail 
the  service  in  the  business  districts,  restoring  the  normal  service 
the  next  morning;  it  can  transfer  a  fleet  of  omnibuses  to  some 
district  entirely  without  the  city  to  accommodate  an  influx  of 
people  attracted  by  races,  regattas  or  athletic  contests;  it  can 
respond  instantly  to  a  rapid  development  in  some  section  of 
the  city  or  suburbs,  while  to  supply  a  tramway  line  would  involve 
great  delay,  first  in  securing  franchises  from  the  local  authori- 
ties, and  then  in  construction,  which  is  necessarily  slow  in  the 
public  streets;  it  can,  if  a  change  of  route  appears  desirable, 
both  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  public  service  or  of  more  profit- 
able operation,  make  such  a  change  overnight;  and  finally,  it 
is  altogether  free  from  the  annoying  interruptions  to  traffic 


PLATE  54 


Typical  houses  for  workmen  in  Colony  Alfredshof,  Essen.      Tlie  upper  view 
shows  a  dwelling  to  accommodate  five  families  (pp.  197  and  301). 


PLATE  55 


Plan  of  Colony  Gewerkschaft,  Emscher-Lippe  (pp.  197  and  301). 


Kiiiittq 


Plan  of  Colony  Alfredshof,  Essen  (pp.  197  and  301). 


Street  Traffic  205 


caused  by  the  disabling  of  vehicles,  the  obstruction  of  tracks, 
and  the  delays  incident  to  periodical  track  repairs  and  recon- 
struction. 

The  heavy  vehicles  are  very  severe  in  their  effect  upon  the 
roads.  A  new  route  may  traverse  a  road  with  an  inadequate 
foundation  and  a  surface  incapable  of  sustaining  motor  traffic 
of  this  type ;  but  the  omnibus  company  is  under  no  obligation  to 
adapt  the  road  to  the  use  to  which  it  may  desire  to  put  it.  That 
is  left  to  the  public  authorities  to  be  done  at  public  expense. 
An  instance  of  this  kind  was  given  the  author  by  one  of  the 
engineers  of  the  London  County  Council:  An  omnibus  line 
had  lately  been  estabUshed  running  through  streets  in  one  of 
the  outlying  portions  of  the  county  of  London,  where  the  road 
crust  was  insufficient  to  sustain  such  heavy  vehicles  as  motor 
omnibuses,  and  the  London  County  Council  was  compelled  to 
raise  by  loan  some  $80,000  for  reinforcing  the  road  surface. 
Soon  after  this  work  was  done  the  omnibus  company  decided 
that  a  modification  of  the  route  would  be  desirable,  and  a  change 
was  made,  with  the  result  that  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
distance  another  road  was  followed,  where  again  the  surface 
was  insufficiently  strong  to  sustain  this  class  of  traffic,  and  a 
further  improvement  was  made  necessary  at  large  expense. 

Further  than  this,  the  omnibus  companies  are  unrestricted 
as  to  fares.  Where  competition  exists  they  meet  it ;  where  they 
have  the  field  to  themselves,  the  fares  are  kept  up.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  19 1 3  the  omnibus  fare  from  Victoria  Station  to  Sidcup, 
a  distance  of  about  12  miles,  was  18  cents,  much  more  than  the 
rate  for  a  corresponding  distance  by  tramway  line,  or  by  omnibus 
where  other  lines  are  in  competition,  while  it  seems  absurdly 
high  as  compared  with  a  ride  of  17^  miles  for  five  cents  in  New 
York,  where,  however,  the  shortest  ride  costs  the  same  five 
cents. 

While  London  has  always  used  omnibuses,  a  striking  feature 
of  this  kind  of  traffic  is  the  rapidity  with  which  motor  vehicles 
have  supplanted  those  drawn  by  horses,  the  change  resulting 
in  greatly  increased  speed,  fewer  vehicles  for  the  same  service, 


206  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  greater  popularity,  as  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  of  the 
91.9  per  cent  increase  in  the  number  of  passengers  carried  by 
omnibuses  from  1902  to  19 12,  60.7  per  cent  of  this  increase  took 
place  from  1910  to  1912,  the  period  during  which  the  change 
in  motive  power  chiefly  took  place,  while  the  increase  for  19 12 
over  19 1 1  was  151,000,000  passengers,  or  37  per  cent.  During 
this  time  there  has  been  an  actual  decrease  in  the  total  number 
of  omnibuses  operated.  In  1903  there  were  3636  omnibuses 
licensed,  of  which  only  13  were  mechanically  propelled,  while 
in  19 1 2  the  total  number  licensed  had  decreased  to  3284,  of 
which  2908  were  motor  driven,  and  in  the  spring  of  1914  the 
last  of  the  horse-drawn  buses  was  withdrawn  and  the  number 
of  those  which  were  mechanically  driven  had  reached  more  than 
3000.  In  view  of  the  above  facts  it  is  not  strange  that,  while 
the  pubUcly  owned  and  operated  tramway  lines  have  been  run 
at  a  loss,  the  £100  shares  of  the  London  General  Omnibus 
Company,  which  were  worth  £18  in  December,  1909,  had  risen 
in  value  to  £400  in  June,  19 12. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  motor  buses  passing  certain 
points  has  been  very  striking.  The  traffic  census  showed  that 
in  Oxford  street  there  were  1000  more  in  12  hours  in  1913  than 
in  19 1 2,  while  in  the  single  hour  between  6  and  7  p.m.,  576  of 
these  vehicles  passed,  as  compared  with  462  in  191 2,  or  an 
average  of  one  every  12^  seconds  in  each  direction,  as  compared 
with  one  every  15I  seconds  in  191 2.  Again,  in  Piccadilly,  where 
the  increase  in  the  total  number  passing  in  12  hours  was  found 
to  be  about  the  same  as  in  Oxford  street,  402  buses  passed 
between  6  and  7  p.m.,  against  281  in  191 2,  the  interval  between 
buses  in  each  direction  having  been  reduced  from  25^  seconds 
to  18  seconds. 

While  the  increase  in  passenger  transportation  by  pubHc- 
service  corporations  in  city  streets  has  been  especially  con- 
spicuous and  involves  peculiar  difficulties  in  London,  owing  to 
the  narrow  and  tortuous  streets  of  that  city,  it  is  equally  notice- 
able in  other  cities,  though  it  has  net  resulted  in  such  conges- 
tion for  the  reason  that  these  other  cities  have  wider  streets 


Street  Traffic  207 


or  have  made  provision  for  main  traffic  arteries  of  generous 
dimensions,  while  nowhere  else,  perhaps,  has  the  increase  in 
passenger  traffic  by  public-service  corporations  been  unaccom- 
panied by  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  cabs,  both  public  and 
private.  Statistics  collected  by  the  PubUc  Service  Commission 
of  New  York  city  show  that  the  number  of  passengers  carried 
by  the  various  transit  lines  in  London,  in  191 1,  excluding  those 
handled  by  trunk-line  railways,  was  in  round  numbers  1659 
millions.  In  1912  similar  lines  in  New  York  handled  1150  mil- 
lions; in  Vienna,  886  millions;  in  Berlin,  760  millions;  in  Paris, 
715  millions;  in  Chicago,  659  millions;  in  Philadelphia,  467 
mi'lions;  in  St.  Louis,  376  milHons;  in  Cleveland,  308  mil- 
lions. The  number  of  persons  discharged  into  city  streets 
at  important  railway  terminals  and  traversing  these  same 
streets  to  reach  the  terminals  is  enormous.  It  is  estimated 
that  100,000  persons  pass  through  the  Liverpool  street  station 
of  the  Great  Eastern  Railway  in  London  in  each  direction  daily, 
and  this  is  exclusive  of  the  numbers  using  the  station  of  the 
Metropolitan  Railway  adjoining  and  that  of  the  Central  Lon- 
don Railway,  which  is  located  beneath  the  Liverpool  street 
station.  During  the  half  hour  between  8.30  and  9  in  the 
morning  27  trains  discharge  about  18,000  passengers  in  this 
station,  and  during  the  half  hour  from  6  to  6.30  during  the 
evening  rush  24  trains  take  out  16,000  passengers,  while  during 
the  four  hours  between  six  and  ten  in  the  morning,  71,000 
persons  arrive  at  the  station,  and  a  somewhat  greater  num- 
ber leave  it  between  five  and  nine  in  the  evening.  That  there  is 
serious  congestion  in  the  narrow  streets  leading  to  this  station 
will  be  readily  appreciated  by  reference  to  a  map  of  London 
and  noting  the  narrow  and  crooked  streets  leading  to  and  from 
this  terminal,  which  have  been  referred  to  elsewhere. 

A  type  of  public  service  vehicle  which  has  lately  been 
developed,  but  which  has  a  limited  and  local  use,  is  what  might 
be  called  a  trolley  vehicle,  taking  its  electric  power  from  an 
overhead  wire,  but  without  tracks,  so  that  it  is  a  free-wheel 
vehicle  within  the  limitations  imposed  by  its  connection  with  the 


208 


The  Planning  of  the  Modem  City 


overhead  conductor.  Among  the  places  where  this  type  of 
car  or  omnibus  has  been  used  is  the  Hne  connecting  several 
of  the  towns  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Geneva,  in  Switzerland. 
Connection  between  the  overhead  wire  and  the  motor  on  the 
vehicle  is  made  by  means  of  a  flexible  insulated  conductor, 
which  shifts  from  one  side  of  the  vehicle  to  the  other  as  it  changes 
its  position  on  the  road ;  and  as  passengers  are  carried  on  the 
roofs  of  vehicles,  the  contact  of  this  flexible  conductor  with  their 
heads  and  shoulders  is  somewhat  disconcerting.  This  system 
of  transportation  requires  the  installation  of  a  central  power 
station,  as  does  an  electiic  tramway,  but  avoids  the  provision 
of  a  permanent  way  and  the  limitations  of  fixed  lines  of  move- 
ment, so  that  it  has  some  of  the  advantages  of  free-wheel 
vehicles  such  as  the  motor  omnibus. 

The  change  from  horse-drawn  to  motor-driven  vehicles  of 
all  description  during  the  past  few  years  has  been  conspicuous. 
This  can  best  be  illustrated  by  the  table  showing  the  number 
of  Ucenses  issued  by  the  London  MetropoUtan  Pohce  for  cabs, 
omnibuses  and  tramway  cars  in  the  ten  years  from  1903  to  19 12. 


TABLE   VII 

Showing  the  Number  of  Licenses  Issued  by  the  London  Metropolitan 
Police  for  Cabs,  Omnibuses  and  Tramway  Cars,  1903  to  191 2  Inclush-e. 


Cabs. 

Omni 

BUSES. 

Tramway  Cars. 

Total. 

Year. 

Horse. 

Motor. 

Horse. 

Motor. 

Horse. 

Electric. 

1903- ■■ 

1 1 ,404 

I 

3,623 

13 

1,143 

576 

16,760 

1904. . . 

11,057 

2 

3,551 

31 

928 

810 

16,379 

1905 . . 

10,931 

19 

3,484 

41 

786 

1,124 

16,585 

1906 . . 

10,492 

96 

2,964 

783 

905 

1,396 

16,636 

1907.  . 

9,818 

723 

2,557 

1,205 

404 

1,768 

16,475 

1908.  . 

8,475 

2,805 

2,15s 

1,133 

323 

2,003 

16,894 

1909 .  . 

6,562 

3,956 

1,771 

1,180 

239 

2,198 

15,906 

1910.  . 

4,724 

6,397 

1,103 

1,200 

120 

2,411 

15,955 

1911 . . 

3,347 

7,626 

786 

1,962 

90 

2,665 

16,476 

1912. . 

2,38s 

7,969 

376 

2,908 

60 

2,919 

16,557 

It   will   be   seen   that   while    horse-drawn   cabs   decreased 
during  these  ten  years  from    11,404  to   2385,  motor  cabs  in- 


Street  Traffic  209 


creased  from  a  single  pioneer  vehicle  in  1903  to  7969  in  191 2. 
The  number  of  motor  omnibuses  licensed  in  1907  was  1205, 
and  during  the  following  three  years  there  was  a  decrease  in 
this  number  owing,  doubtless,  to  some  mechanical  difficulty 
which  had  not  been  satisfactorily  solved,  but  from  then  on  the 
increase  in  their  number  was  very  marked.  Duiing  this  ten- 
year  period  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total  number  of  vehicles 
licensed  has  fluctuated  somewhat,  but  in  19 12  there  were 
actually  203  less  vehicles  licensed  than  in  1903,  and  this  fact  alone 
will  indicate  the  greater  capacity  of  the  motor  vehicles,  owing 
to  their  higher  speed. 

With  the  greatly  increased  speed  of  the  motor  vehicle 
it  might  be  supposed  that  fewer  vehicles  would  perform  the 
service  formerly  rendered  by  those  which  moved  more  slowly, 
but  this  does  not  seem  to  be  the  case,  the  number  in  sight  at 
one  point  at  the  same  time  being  apparent!}-  as  great  as  for- 
merly. The  number  of  vehicles  passing  certain  points  in  all  great 
cities  is  enormous.  At  Hyde  Park  corner,  in  London,  a  traffic 
census  showed  41,000  passing  in  twelve  hours,  of  which  65  per 
cent  were  motor  driven. 

A  mere  statement  of  the  number  of  vehicles  passing, 
however,  does  not  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  resulting 
congestion.  Some  offer  far  more  obstruction  to  traffic  than 
others,  depending  upon  their  size,  speed  and  flexibihty,  while 
the  roadway  capacity  may  be  such  as  to  cause  or  prevent 
congestion.  Enumeration  is  obviously  the  first  step  in  a  traffic 
census  which  will  determine  the  amount  of  congestion,  but  the 
other  factors  just  named  must  be  given  proper  consideration 
before  the  degree  of  congestion  can  be  determined.  For  pur- 
poses of  comparison  some  common  standard  should  be  used, 
and  this  should  be  the  same  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  in 
different  cities  and  in  different  countries.  An  attempt  has 
been  made  at  such  standardization  in  London,  and  while  it 
may  not  be  the  best  and  most  rational  that  could  be  devised, 
its  adoption  marks  a  distinct  advance  over  the  individual 
and  unrelated  methods  which  have  generally  prevailed.     In 


210  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

working  out  this  standard  it  was  realized  that,  while  the  width 
of  roadway  is  constant  and  can  be  accurately  measured,  and 
while  the  size  of  vehicles  can  be  quite  closely  determined  by  the 
observer,  estimates  of  speed  may  vary  and  the  actual  speed 
will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  congestion;  but  an  experi- 
enced observer  will  be  able  to  estimate  it  closely.  The  remain- 
ing factor,  flexibiHty,  is  largely  a  matter  of  judgment,  and  the 
same  observer  may,  in  the  hasty  conclusion  required  in  taking  a 
traffic  census,  attribute  different  degrees  of  flexibility  to  the 
same  vehicle  at  different  times  and  under  different  circum- 
stances. As  a  result  of  calculation,  verified  by  extended  observa- 
tion, the  degree  of  obstruction  assigned  to  different  vehicles  in 
London  is  shown  by  the  following  table : 

TABLE  VIII 

Showing  the  Relative  Obstruction  Caused  by  Different  Vehicles, 
AS  Estimated  in  London 

Trade  Vehicles.  Passenger  Vehicles. 

I  Horse  (fast) 3     Electric  Trams lo 

1  Horse  (slow) 7     Omnibuses  (horse) 5 

2  Horse  (fast) 4     Omnibuses  (motor) ■ 3 

2  Horse  (slow) 10     Cabs  (horse) 2 

Motor  (fast) 2     Cabs  (motor) i 

Motor  (slow) 5     Carriages  (horse) 2 

Barrows 6     Carriages  (motor) i 

Cycles i 


After  the  enumeration  of  each  of  the  above  classes  of  vehicles, 
the  factors  are  applied  to  them,  and  the  total  of  units  divided 
by  the  number  of  minutes  in  the  period  covered  by  the  observa- 
tions will  give  what  is  called  the  average  traffic  volume.  Aver- 
age trafl&c  density  is  the  average  volume  in  units  for  each  ten 
feet  of  unobstructed  roadway  width.  The  average  vehicle 
is  the  total  number  of  vehicle  units  divided  by  the  total  number 
of  vehicles  passing  the  point  of  observation.  The  period  of 
observation  is  usually  the  twelve  hours  from  8  a.m.  to  8  p.m. 
Under  such  a  system  of  estimating  traffic  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  vehicles  may  be  more  than  compensated  for  by  a 
change  in  motive  power,  with  increasing  speed  and  flexibility. 


PLATE  56 


The  upper  plan  shows  the  tramway  lines  and  the  lower  the  omnibus 
routes  of  Central  London.  Both  are  reproduced  from  maps  accompanying  the 
Wport  of  the  London  Traffic  Branch  of  the  Board  of  Trade  for  1912  (p.  202), 


PLATE  67 


Parking  automobiles  on  one  side  of  a  street  in  Seattle  (p.  217). 


3Z.Zm.(  105.5 ft.) 


The  unsymmetrical  arrangement  of  a  street  in  Essen.  This  and  the  upper 
view  on  PI.  58  are  from  photographs  and  notes  by  !Mr.  Harold  M.  Lewis 
(p.  222). 


Street  Traffic 


211 


According  to  the  London  standard  two  motor  cabs  will  offer 
no  more  obstruction  to  traffic  than  one  horse-drawn  cab,  five 
motor  omnibuses  no  more  than  three  drawn  by  horses,  and  seven 
fast  motor  trade  vehicles  no  more  than  two  slow  one-horse 
vehicles  of  the  same  class. 

While  increased  speed  and  flexibility  may  tend  to  relieve 
congestion,  they  are  also  likely  to  add  to  the  dangers  to  pedes- 
trians and  increase  the  damage  from  collision.  That  this  is 
the  case  appears  obvious  from  the  increasing  number  of  accidents 
in  city  streets.  Statistics  upon  this  subject  have  been  collected, 
and  although  those  taken  from  different  authorities  show 
some  discrepancies  and  there  frequently  is  doubt  as  to  which 
to  accept,  they  all  confirm  the  statement  that  there  has  lately 
been  a  great  increase  in  the  dangers  attendant  upon  the  use 
of  public  streets.  Statistics  as  to  fatal  accidents  in  the  streets 
of  the  six  largest  cities  of  the  world  during  the  year  191 1  show 
a  remarkable  difference  in  the  proportion  of  such  accidents  to 
the  population. 

TABLE  IX 


Fatal  Accidents  in  the  Streets  of  the  Six  Largest  Cities  of  the  World 

DURING  THE  YeAR    IQII 


City. 

Fatal 

Accidents 

IN  1911. 

Population. 

Fatal 
Accidents 

PER 

100.000 
Population. 

London  (Met.  Dist.)..  . 
New  York 

444 
423^ 
236 
228 

143 
62 

7,181,415  (1910,  estimated) 
4,766,883  (1910) 

2,763 -393 
2,185,283  (1910) 

2,101,933 
2,085,888 

6.18    . 
8.87 
8.54 
10.43 
6  80 

Paris 

Chicago       

Berlin 

Vienna 

2.97 

iThe  figures  for  New  York  are  those  compiled  by  the  National  Highways 
Protective  Society,  which  are  believed  to  be  reliable.  Figures  for  the  other  cities 
are  those  of  the  British  Parliamentary  Committee.  This  Committee  puts  the 
number  of  fatal  accidents  in  New  York  in  191 1  at  446,  which  would  make  the 
number  per  100,000  of  population,  9.36,  but  would  still  leave  New  York  in  its  same 
relative  position  with  respect  to  the  other  cities. 


212  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

While  London  appears  to  lead  all  of  these  cities  in  the  actual 
number  of  fatal  accidents,  when  population  is  considered  the 
streets  of  the  London  Metropolitan  District  appear  to  be  safer 
than  those  of  other  cities  of  more  than  2,000,000  population, 
with  the  single  exception  of  Vienna,  while  the  risk  of  accident 
appears  greatest  in  Chicago,  with  New  York  second,  both  of 
the  American  cities  having  a  greater  proportion  of  fatalities 
charged  against  them  than  the  four  cities  of  Europe,  although 
Paris  is  very  little  behind  New  York  in  the  list. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  kind  of  vehicles  to  which  the 
accidents  are  chargeable  in  the  different  cities.  In  New  York, 
Berlin  and  Vienna  the  greatest  number  of  fatalities  were  due  to 
horse-drawn  vehicles,  the  proportion  of  the  total  due  to  them 
being,  respectively,  40,  37  and  47  per  cent.  Motor  cars  and 
cabs  exacted  the  greatest  toll  of  death  in  London,  with  36  per 
cent  for  that  city,  while  in  Chicago  the  greatest  number  was  due 
to  surface  railway  cars,  which  caused  41  per  cent  of  the  total 
number  of  fatal  accidents.  Motor  omnibuses,  dangers  from 
which  in  London  have  been  so  frequently  commented  upon, 
was  third  in  the  list  of  fatal  street  accidents  in  that  city,  being 
responsible  for  26  per  cent,  while  horse-drawn  vehicles  caused 
32  per  cent;  but  when  the  number  of  omnibuses  and  their 
mileage  are  compared  with  horse-drawn  vehicles  and  motor  cars, 
their  capacity  for  the  destruction  of  human  life  appears  very 
great.  In  Berlin,  with  much  fewer  omnibuses,  five  per  cent  of 
the  fatalities  were  caused  by  them. 

Studies  of  traffic  congestion,  its  causes  and  results,  while 
interesting,  will  be  profitless  unless  they  lead  to  the  adoption 
of  means  for  prevention.  Such  preventive  means  are  neces- 
sarily limited  to  two  general  remedies:  increasing  the  capacity 
of  roadways  by  widening  existing  and  creating  additional 
streets,  and  the  regulation  of  traffic  in  order  that  an  increased 
volume  may  be  accommodated  by  existing  thoroughfares. 
The  former  remedy  is  costly  in  the  extreme,  as  the  busiest 
thoroughfares  are  naturally  in  the  most  intensively  developed 
portions  of  the  city  where  land  values  are  highest  and  buildings 


Street  Traffic  213 


are  likely  to  be  most  expensive.  The  second  remedy  is,  there- 
fore, the  first  to  be  appKed,  and  the  disposition  first  to  resent 
and  finally  to  accept  and  commend  such  regulation  has  already 
been  noted  in  this  chapter.  Drivers  soon  learn  that  their 
irresponsible  movement  at  will  from  one  side  of  the  roadway 
to  the  other,  turning  within  the  block  or  in  such  direction  as 
may  seem  easiest  to  them,  causes  delay  to  themselves  as  well 
as  to  others.  They  soon  find  out  that  it  is  better  to  pass  around 
congested  street  intersections  than  to  try  and  force  their  way 
through  them ;  that  regular  stoppages  to  permit  the  passage  of 
vehicles  on  cross  streets  will  ultimately  save  time.  The  sim- 
plest device  appears  to  be  what  is  known  as  the  "  block  system," 
under  which  all  traffic  at  important  crossings  is  periodically 
halted  in  order  to  allow  that  on  the  cross  streets  to  proceed. 
When  the  blocks  are  very  short  and  each  crossing  is  regulated 
independently  of  the  others,  there  are  still  very  annoying  delays, 
passage  across  one  street  being  frequently  permitted  just  in 
time  to  allow  the  driver  to  be  caught  by  the  stoppage  at  the  next 
cross  street.  An  attempt  has  lately  been  made  on  Fifth  avenue, 
in  New  York  city,  to  treat  from  six  to  eight  blocks  as  a  unit. 
A  police  officer  is  stationed  at  each  of  the  cross  streets.  Some 
of  these  streets  will  be  of  such  importance  that  they  should 
control  the  movement  on  the  others.  When  the  avenue  traffic 
is  halted  at  the  controlling  street,  a  master  stanchion  or  sema- 
phore is  set  at  "  stop  "  at  that  street  and  a  similar  signal  is  at 
once  displayed  at  each  of  the  other  cross  streets,  so  that  there 
is  free  movement  across  the  avenue  at  all  of  the  streets  within 
the  section.  When  the  delayed  vehicles  at  the  controlling 
cross  street  have  been  passed,  the  "  go  "  signal  is  displayed  at 
each  crossing  and  there  is  free  movement  along  the  avenue  for 
the  entire  unit  of  control. 

The  periods  during  which  traffic  is  stopped  on  the  cross 
streets  vary  from  go  to  no  seconds  and  on  the  avenue  from 
40  to  50  seconds.  It  is  estimated  that  the  adoption  of  the 
larger  unit  of  control  has  reduced  the  average  time  required 
for  a  motor  car  to  travel   the    1.7  miles  along  Fifth  avenue 


214  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

between  Twenty-sixth  and  Fifty-eighth  streets  by  from  four 
to  five  minutes.  When  the  regulation  of  traffic  was  first  under- 
taken the  efforts  of  the  police  were  chiefly  directed  to  stopping 
vehicles,  but,  as  they  have  gradually  become  more  proficient 
and  have  acquired  a  better  appreciation  of  the  real  purpose  of 
traffic  control,  their  aim  has  been  to  keep  the  traffic  moving. 
The  raised  hand  to  direct  a  stop  is  less  frequent,  while  the 
arm  motion  to  go  ahead  is  more  often  seen.  The  same  results 
are  noticeable  in  the  movement  of  the  surface  cars.  On  a 
very  busy  street  in  Brooklyn,  where  there  is  a  constant  pro- 
cession of  cars,  many  of  which  loop  about  a  triangular  block 
and  return,  the  round  trip  time  from  one  point  to  this  loop 
and  back,  a  total  distance  of  one  and  a  quarter  miles,  has 
lately  been  reduced  from  24  to  19  minutes. 

The  varying  custom  in  different  cities,  and  even  in  the  same 
city,  as  to  the  side  of  the  cross  street  at  which  surface  cars  and 
omnibuses  shall  stop  to  take  on  and  discharge  passengers  has 
been  the^cause  of  much  confusion  and  delay  and  of  not  a  few 
accidents.  The  far-side  stop  has  been  the  general  rule,  except 
where  the  cross  street  is  also  occupied  by  a  raihoad,  when 
the  cars  stop  at  the  near  side,  or  frequently  at  both  sides. 
Many  cities  have  lately  adopted  stringent  rules  as  to  the  stopping 
place  for  surface  cars  and  omnibuses,  and  have  painted  on 
the  surface  of  the  pavement  the  spaces  within  which  passen- 
gers may  stand  and  upon  which  vehicles  may  not  encroach. 
New  York  has  lately  adopted  the  near-side  stop  for  all  cross- 
ings, and  the  records  of  the  Pubhc  Service  Commission  show 
that  for  the  first  three  months  during  which  the  new  regulation 
was  in  force  there  was  a  decrease  of  1185  accidents  from  the 
number  during  the  corresponding  three  months  of  the' preceding 
year,  although  during  the  first  month  there  was  an  increase 
of  158  in  the  number  of  accidents  to  those  boarding  cars,  owing 
to  the  fact  that,  not  being  accustomed  to  the  new  rule,  they 
waited  at  the  far  side  and  then  attempted  to  board  moving  cars. 

Another  regulation  recently  adopted  by  the  New  York 
police  has  to  do  with  the  left-hand  turn.     When  traffic  is  moving 


Street  Traffic 


215 


along  a  street  in  both  directions  it  is  evident  that  a  left-hand 
turn  into  a  cross  street  will  result  in  interference  with  the 
line  of  vehicles  moving  in  the  opposite  direction.  One  wishing 
to  turn  to  the  left  is,  therefore,  obliged  either  to  leave  the 
line  of  traffic  by  turning  to  the  right,  pass  around  the  block 


Fig.  49. — Diagram  showing  the  gyratory  system  of  traffic  regulation  as 
applied  to  Columbus  Circle,  New  York. 


through  the  next  parallel  street  and  then  wait  for  the  release 
of  traffic  on  the  next  cross  street;  or  he  may  turn  into  the  mid- 
dle of  the  roadway  at  the  crossing  of  the  street  he  desires  to 
enter  and  wait  there  until  the  traffic  block  is  removed  as  to  the 
cross  street.     If  he  is  within  the  street  intersection,  his  turn 


216 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


to  the  left  will  involve  no  delay  whatever  to  the  cross- street 
traffic  when  released.  Where  there  is  considerable  open  space 
at  the  junction  of  several  streets  the  gyratory  system  of 
traffic  movement  has  been  very  successfully  employed.  A  good 
example  of  this  is  afforded  by  Columbus  Circle,  New  York 
(Fig.  49).  This  plan  has  been  described  fully  by  Mr.  Unwin 
and  Mr.  Triggs  in  their  books  on  city  planning,  and  they  have 


Fig.  50. — Plan  showing  proposed  adaptation   of   the  gyratory  system   of  traflSc 
regulation  to  the  intersection  of  two  loo-ft.  streets  with  55-ft.  roadways. 

given  diagrams  showing  its  adaptation  to  specific  cases  and 
the  great  reduction  in  the  number  of  possible  collision  points 
which  would  result.  It  is  said  that  this  plan  was  first  tried  at 
Columbus  Circle  in  1905  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  William  P. 
Eno,  of  Washington,  whose  efforts  to  have  it  adopted  in  Paris 
and  other  large  cities  have  been  quite  successful.  Mr.  Eno 
has  lately  urged  its  adaptability  to  rectangular  crossings  of 
important  streets,  the  movement  of  vehicles  being  indicated  by 
Fig.  50,  which  shows  the  crossing  of  two  streets  each  100  ft. 


Street  Traffic  217 


wide  with  roadways  of  55  ft.  It  is  urged  that  this  would  en- 
tirely do  away  with  the  alternate  stopping  and  releasing  of 
traffic,  and  permit  continuous  movement.  The  mechanical 
control  of  the  movement  of  vehicles  at  crossings  has  been 
proposed,  the  approaching  vehicle  automatically  setting  a 
signal  before  it  enters  the  intersection,  thus  doing  away  with  the 
need  of  a  police  officer;  but  the  practicability  and  efficiency  of 
this  method  have  not  yet  been  demonstrated,  and  the  average 
driver  will  always  have  more  respect  for  a  police  officer  than 
for  a  semaphore. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  moving  traffic  that  must  be  taken 
into  account,  that  needs  regulation  and  for  which  provision  must 
be  made.  The  great  number  of  standing  or  waiting  vehicles 
offer  a  serious  obstruction  to  free  movement  and  tax  the  road- 
way capacity  to  the  utmost,  and  this  number  appears  to  have 
been  greatly  increased  since  the  motor  car  came  into  general 
use.  At  railway  terminals,  large  hotels,  high-class  places  of 
amusement  and  shops  the  number  of  standing  cars  is  so  great 
that  the  available  roadway  is  very  much  restricted  and  in  some 
cases  special  provision  has  been  made  for  their  accommodation 
beneath  the  street  surface.  The  motor  cars  occupy  less  space 
than  horse-drawn  vehicles,  but,  when  standing  close  together 
along  the  curb,  they  are  unable  to  turn  out  of  the  line.  When 
the  street  width  is  sufficient  they  are  often  required  to  take  a 
position  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees  with  the  curb, 
as  shown  in  the  view  of  a  street  in  Seattle  where  one  side  is 
wholly  given  over  to  the  parking  of  cars  (PI.  57).  This 
plan  would  be  obviously  unfair  in  the  case  of  a  street  devoted 
to  shops  or  certain  other  kinds  of  business,  as  the  space  next 
to  the  curb  on  one  side  of  the  street  is  constantly  obstructed 
so  that  vehicles  cannot  approach  it.  In  streets  of  exceptional 
width,  as  in  the  case  of  Broad  street,  Philadelphia,  the  cars  are 
parked  in  the  middle  of  the  roadway  in  a  position  at  right 
angles  to  the  axis  of  the  street.  A  great  many  cars  can  be 
accommodated  in  this  manner  and  any  one  of  them  can  readily 
leave   its   position,    however   closely    they   may   stand.     The 


^18  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

assignment  and  regulation  of  public  cab-stands  has  been  a  trou- 
blesome question  in  many  cities.  Hotels  have  frequently  let 
the  space  in  front  of  them  for  this  purpose,  thus  deriving  a  very 
substantial  revenue  from  the  rental  of  a  portion  of  the  public 
street  to  which  they  have  no  right  whatever  except  that 
of  access  enjoyed  by  every  abutting  owner.  The  hotels  claim 
that  their  purpose  was  the  protection  both  of  their  guests  and 
of  the  owners  of  the  cabs,  the  hotel  management  becoming 
responsible  to  the  former  for  the  character  of  the  service  and 
the  prevention  of  illegal  charges  and  to  the  latter  for  the  collec- 
tion of  their  fares,  and  that  they  could  not  exercise  proper 
control  in  the  absence  of  some  contractual  relation  between 
them  and  the  cab-owners.  Cities  have  lately  exercised  more 
effective  control  over  public  cabs,  and  have  designated  places 
where  stands  may  be  established  and  the  number  of  cabs 
allowed  at  each  stand.  In  European  cities  such  stands  are 
frequently  located  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  where  roadways 
are  of  sufficient  width,  and  the  cab  at  the  head  of  the  Une  is 
the  one  to  respond  whenever  there  is  a  call;  but  this  arrange- 
ment has  not  yet  been  adopted  to  any  great  extent  in  American 
cities.  Most  of  the  modern  railway  terminals  have  made 
provision  for  standing  cabs  within  the  lines  of  the  buildings 
and  at  the  Grand  Central  Terminal  in  New  York,  space  under 
the  adjoining  streets  has  been  rented  from  the  city  in  order 
to  provide  space  in  addition  to  that  set  aside  for  the  purpose 
on  the  railroad  property. 

It  may  be  asked  what  this  subject  of  street  traffic  and  its 
control  has  to  do  with  fundamental  city  planning.  Is  it  not  a 
question  of  administration  rather  than  of  planning?  It  may  be: 
but  one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  city  planner  is  to 
make  the  solution  of  such  problems  of  administration  easy,  or 
at  least  not  impossible.  Regulation  of  traffic  by  its  diversion 
into  other  streets  might  be  possible,  if  other  streets  of  adequate 
capacity  were  available.  Standing  vehicles  may  be  assigned 
to  specific  locations  pro\dded  the  roadway  mdth  is  sufficient 
to  permit  the  assignment  of  such  space  without  serious  inter- 


Street  Traffic  219 


ference  with  moving  traffic.  Further  than  this,  it  may  be 
found  that  desperately  bad  traffic  conditions  may  be  improved 
by  a  modification  of  some  of  the  street  details,  such  as  a  better 
subdivision  of  the  street  into  roadway  and  sidewalk  spaces, 
so  that  the  more  costly  remedy  of  street  widenings  or  the  cutting 
through  of  new  streets  may  be  avoided  for  a  time  at  least.  A 
careful  study  of  the  changes  which  have  lately  taken  place  in 
the  character,  volume  and  speed  of  street  traffic,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  can  be  regulated  and  controlled,  is  essential  if 
we  are  to  plan  wisely  for  the  future. 


CHAPTER  XII 
STREET  DETAILS— UTILITY  AND  ADORNMENT 

TT  ^HILE  the  working  out  of  a  general  plan  for  the  streets 
'  '  and  roads  of  a  city  and  its  environs  is  a  task  of  funda- 
mental importance,  upon  the  successful  performance  of  which 
will  depend  in  large  degree  the  orderly  development  of  the 
city,  the  unobstructed  movement  of  its  traffic  and  business, 
the  adequacy  of  the  approaches  to  and  exits  from  the  town, 
and  while  this  street  system  forms  the  general  groundwork  of 
the  city  plan,  much  more  remains  to  be  done.  The  ground 
plan  may  be  admirable  as  a  whole,  the  streets  may  be  of  gener- 
ous width  and  good  alignment  and  may  be  skilfully  located 
with  respect  to  the  topography,  and  yet  their  traffic  capacity 
may  be  less  than  it  might  be  owing  to  bad  proportion  of  road- 
ways and  sidewalks;  movement  along  them  may  be  seriously 
impeded  by  useless  obstructions;  roadway  pavements  may  be 
unsuited  to  the  character  of  the  traffic  or  to  the  grades;  injudi- 
cious tree  planting  or  entire  absence  of  planting  may  make  them 
bare  and  unattractive;  lamp  posts  and  street  signs  may  be 
conspicuously  ugly ;  unlawful  occupancy  of  the  sidewalk  spaces 
by  abutting  owners  may  interfere  with  pedestrians  and  pro- 
duce a  ragged  and  unsightly  appearance;  hideous  bill-boards 
and  gaudy  facades  may  offend  both  residents  and  visitors; 
inadequate  lighting  at  night  may  render  the  streets  gloomy 
if  not  dangerous ;  while  a  riot  of  inharmonious  color  in  electric 
advertising  signs  may  proclaim  the  bad  taste  and  vulgar  com- 
merciaHsm  of  the  people.  There  are  many  details  of  street 
arrangement  and  design  which  are  worthy  of  the  most  careful 
study.  Nor,  when  these  details  have  been  fully  worked  out  for 
one  street  or  even  for  one  street  of  each  class,  can  that  particular 

220 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  221 

method  of  treatment  be  adopted  for  all  streets,  or  for  all  streets 
of  a  certain  class  or  width.  The  designer  cannot  complacently 
say:  "  There,  that  part  of  the  city  plan  has  been  carefully 
worked  out,  and  here  is  a  design,  the  result  of  careful  study, 
in  accordance  with  which  the  streets  of  the  city  are  to  be  laid 
out  and  constructed.  Use  this  standard  plan  whenever  a  new 
street  is  to  be  improved."  Yet  that  very  course  is  being 
followed  to-day  in  many  cities.  Long,  straight  streets  at  fixed 
intervals,  each  exactly  like  the  others  in  dimensions  and  arrange- 
ment, lined  with  interminable  rows  of  houses  of  similar  design, 
material  and  color,  make  the  residential  districts  of  our  cities 
so  much  ahke  that  without  street  signs  and  numbers  many  city 
dwellers  would  find  it  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  locate  their  own  homes.  There  has  lately  been  something 
of  a  reaction  against  this  monotony  of  treatment  with  a  ten- 
dency in  some  places  to  go  to  the  other  extreme.  An  avoidance 
of  identical  treatment  of  different  streets  has  not  seemed  suffi- 
cient to  some  designers  and  an  unsymmetrical  arrangement  of 
the  same  street  has  been  urged  and  adopted  by  some  distin- 
guished authorities;  not  only  a  variation  in  the  treatment  of 
different  parts  of  the  same  street,  which  is  usually  pleasing, 
but  a  different  treatment  of  the  two  sides  of  the  street,  a  single 
roadway  being  placed  near  one  side,  bordered  by  a  narrow  foot- 
way, while  wide  walks,  shrubbery,  grass  and  trees  are  placed 
on  the  other  side.  There  are  special  cases,  such  as  side-hill 
streets,  or  where  the  property  on  one  side  is  devoted  to  business 
and  that  on  the  other  side  to  residences,  where  the  reason  for 
such  treatment  is  obvious ;  but  where  the  improvement  and  use 
of  the  two  sides  of  the  street  are  similar  and  where  no  topo- 
graphical conditions  suggest  such  unsymmetrical  treatment  it 
is  difficult  to  understand  why  it  was  resorted  to.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  trees  have  been  set  out  and  have  grown  to  good 
size  before  the  street  has  been  built  upon,  or  the  houses  on  one 
side  may  have  been  set  back  from  the  street  fine,  and  a  widening 
of  such  a  street  becomes  desirable.  By  resorting  to  an  unbal- 
anced or  unsymmetrical  treatment  such  a  widening  of  the  road- 


222  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

way  or  two  roadways  of  different  widths  can  be  adopted 
without  the  destruction  of  the  trees.  In  such  cases  an  irregular 
or  unconventional  arrangement  is  clearly  advisable,  even  though 
the  reason  for  it  may  not  be  apparent  after  the  completion  of 
the  improvement.  But  where  a  single  line  of  young  trees 
occupies  one  side  of  a  roadway  and  the  sidewalks  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  street  are  of  different  widths  and  treated  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner,  it  appears  as  if  the  designer  of  the  street  had  been 
guided  by  a  passion  for  irregularity  as  strong  as  was  the  pas- 
sion for  sameness  on  the  part  of  those  who  made  the  plans  for 
most  American  cities,  or  as  strong  as  the  passion  for  standard- 
ization which  is  so  apparent  in  business  and  in  civil  administra- 
tion to  day. 

This  tendency  to  avoid  formal  symmetry  and  geometrical 
pattern  in  the  city  plan  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  work  of 
the  German  planners,  while  the  French  practice  still  seems  to 
adhere  to  the  simple  dignity  of  classical  design,  and  the  same 
ideas  appear  to  prevail  in  most  of  the  designs  for  civic  centers 
and  important  plazas  in  American  cities,  so  many  of  which  have 
lately  been  proposed.  Examples  of  the  German  tendency  to 
irregularity  are  found  in  Essen,  where  the  roadways  are  fre- 
quently placed  off  the  center  line  of  the  street,  giving  sidewalks 
of  different  widths,  a  paved  walk  close  to  the  building  line  on 
one  side  and  generous  planting  spaces  being  provided  in  front 
of  those  on  the  other  side.  While  this  adds  pleasing  variety 
to  the  street,  it  appears  to  make  a  sharp  distinction  in  the 
treatment  of  the  two  sides  which  must  necessarily  affect  their 
desirability  for  residential  purposes,  a  discrimination  which 
would  probably  be  vigorously  resented  in  an  American  city 
(Pis.  57  and  58). 

Mr.  Unwin  protests  against  the  adoption  of  a  minimum 
street  width  and  the  tendency  to  standardize  street  dimensions. 
Perhaps  there  is  good  ground  for  this  protest,  as  nothing  will 
more  certainly  tend  to  make  a  city  monotonous  or  deprive  it 
of  local  interest  than  to  impose  upon  it  many  miles  of  streets 
of  perfectly  regular  width  and  of  uniform  treatment.     A  like 


PLATE  58 


\Par/<uM7y  with  grass  airif  s^rubsiit 


Mozaic 
sideM/a/k7-„A^, 

mm?^\ 


Flag  I 
side-  ; 
oione  block     ujalk 


-23.8m.(7B.0ft.) 


Another  example  of  the  treatment  of  streets  in  Essen  (p.  222). 


A  wide  sewer  inlet  in  Pasadena,  where  the  rainfall  is  sometimes  very  heavy. 
Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the  Engineering  Record  (p.  242). 


PLATE  59 


Fifth  avenue,  New  York,  on  Easter  Sunday;  street  loo  ft.  wide;  road- 
way 55  ft.;  sidewalks  22^  ft.;  no  surface  railway  tracks.  From  photograph 
by  Mr.  Melvin  S.  Wells  (p.  228). 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  223 

protest  may  well  be  made  against  standardizing  the  treatment 
of  streets  of  the  same  width.  A  justification  for  fixing  a  mini- 
mum street  width  and  for  making  that  width  a  fairly  generous 
one,  at  least  in  .American  cities,  is  the  absence  of  authority  to 
impose  limitations  of  height  and  of  the  proportion  of  the  lot 
which  may  be  built  upon.  If  it  is  possible  to  develop  any  sec- 
tion of  the  city  with  soHdly  built  blocks,  three,  four,  five  or  more 
stories  in  height,  it  is  quite  obvious  that  adequate  light  and  air 
and  even  sufi&cient  street  capacity  will  not  be  provided  if  the 
streets  are  too  narrow,  and  the  only  safe  plan  may  be  so  to  fix 
street  widths  that  whatever  may  happen,  whatever  may  be 
the  character  of  the  development  that  takes  place,  there  will 
still  be  sufficient  Ught  and  air  to  make  decent  living  possible 
and  traffic  congestion  may  be  avoided.  If,  however,  the  height 
of  buildings  and  the  proportion  of  the  lots  which  they  may  occupy 
may  be  restricted  for  any  particular  section,  a  very  material 
reduction  in  the  street  width  may  be  permitted.  Similarly 
if  business  has  already  gained  a  foothold  on  one  side  of  a  street 
and  it  is  desired  to  preserve  the  other  side  for  residences,  a  dif- 
ferent treatment  of  the  two  sides  of  the  street  would  tend  to 
the  accompUshment  of  this  result.  Several  examples  of  such 
treatment  are  to  be  found  in  Toronto,  but  not  to  the  degree 
indicated  in  the  views  of  streets  in  Essen. 

Some  writers  on  city  planning  have  attempted  to  prescribe 
the  proper  proportions  of  a  "  place."  It  is  argued  that  a  square 
shape  should  be  avoided  and  that  it  should  be  made  oblong, 
the  length  and  width  bearing  some  definite  proportion,  the  length, 
however,  not  being  greater  than  three  times  the  width.  It 
would  scarcely  be  safe  to  adopt  such  a  rule.  The  picturesque 
features  and  the  charm  of  every  one  of  these  "  places  "  which 
are  to  be  found  in  old-world  cities  depend  not  so  much  upon 
their  shape  and  their  dimensions  as  upon  the  character  of  the 
buildings  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  It  is  quite  apparent 
that  an  over-large  "  place  "  will  dwarf  the  buildings  around  it, 
and  that  a  mass  of  towering  structures  built  around  a  ''  place  " 
or  square  of  limited  area  will  rob  it  of  its  dignity.     It  is  quite 


224  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

improbable  that  the  most  famous  "  places  "  of  Europe  were 
laid  out  as  they  are  to-day  for  the  reason  that  the  particular 
size  and  shape  which  were  adopted  were  believed  to  be  most 
effective  or  artistic.  These  "  places  "  were  usually  markets 
about  which  buildings  had  grown  up,  and  it  is  highly  prob- 
able that  the  dimensions  and  arrangement  of  many  of  them 
which  are  so  much  admired  are  the  result  of  accident  rather 
than  design.  The  markets  were  the  chief  centers  of  activity  and 
the  most  important  buildings  were  naturally  built  about  them. 
Good  architecture  and  thorough  work  were  the  rule  in  those 
days,  and  the  result  has  been  a  very  happy  one. 

Street  details  may  be  divided  into  those  the  chief  purpose  of 
which  is  utility,  as  tending  to  promote  convenience  and  safety, 
and  those  of  which  the  aim  is  adornment  or  to  add  to  the  at- 
tractiveness of  the  city.  There  will  be  some  of  these  details 
where  both  are  sought,  but  neither  should  be  sacrificed  to  the 
other.  To  be  convenient  and  safe  a  street  or  the  junction  of 
several  streets  need  not  be  ugly  and  badly  proportioned.  If 
a  dignified  or  picturesque  effect  is  sought  to  be  attained  in  such 
a  way  as  to  involve  public  inconvenience  or  danger  the  pur- 
pose will  not  be  reaUzed,  and  a  painful  impression  will  be 
produced.  A  street  may  be  well  Lighted  so  far  as  the  amount 
of  light  is  concerned,  but  this  may  be  accomphshed  by  the 
use  of  ugly  lamp  standards  or  by  the  suspension  of  the  lights 
from  overhead  wires  supported  by  poles ;  graceful  lamp  standards 
may  be  introduced  which  will  be  attractive  by  day,  but  they 
may  be  so  placed  and  the  illumination  may  be  so  meagre  as  to 
produce  unsatisfactory  results  at  night. 

The  alignment  and  grades  of  the  streets  will  have  been 
determined  by  the  original  street  plan,  but  certain  details  at 
street  junctions  may  often  be  subsequently  adjusted  and 
improved  in  the  interest  of  safety,  convenience  and  appearance. 
The  most  awkward  intersections  are  those  where  there  is  an 
offset  in  the  crossing  street  involving  two  right-angled  turns; 
while  an  enlargement  of  the  street  area  is  desirable  at  all 
intersections  where  any  considerable  traffic  may  be  expected, 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  225 

it  is  especially  necessary  where  there  are  offsets.  Such  breaks 
in  the  continuity  of  a  street  have  the  advantage  of  affording 
opportunities  for  interesting  street  pictures  and  advantageous 
sites  for  buildings  which  require  ample  light  and  air  and  which 
are  worthy  of  sites  which  enable  them  to  be  seen  to  advantage. 
Several  methods  of  treating  offset  intersections  are  shown  in 
Fig.  25,  p.  112,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  by  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  slight  additional  area  very  pleasing  results  can  be 
secured.  At  acute-angled  intersections  the  street  lines  may  be 
deliberately  shifted  in  order  to  break  the  alignment  without 
the  slightest  embarrassment  to  traffic,  while  the  streets  will 
acquire  added  interest  and  some  admirable  sites  will  be  pro- 
vided for  important  buildings,  as  shown  by  details  J  and  K  of 
Fig.  25.  Where  two  important  streets  intersect  each  other 
either  at  right  angles  or  obliquely,  an  enlargement  of  the  area 
is  always  desirable,  the  open  spaces  being  either  rectangular 
or  circular  in  form  and  occasionally  irregular  in  shape.  The 
■circle  is  best  adapted  to  cases  where  five,  six  or  more  streets 
come  together,  when  it  can  be  made  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the 
general  plan.  Among  the  symmetrical  places  of  this  kind  are 
the  Place  de  I'Etoile  with  its  twelve  converging  avenues  and 
the  Arc  de  Triomphe  in  its  center,  and  the  Place  de  la  Nation, 
where  ten  streets  center  at  the  bronze  group  representing  the 
Triumph  of  the  Republic,  both  of  these  places  being  on  what 
might  be  called  the  main  axis  of  the  city  of  Paris.  Other 
examples  are  the  circular  place  at  IndianapoHs  with  a  diameter 
of  493  ft.  and  the  tall  shaft  of  the  Soldiers'  Monument  in  the 
center,  whence  the  four  principal  streets  of  the  city  radiate, 
and  Columbus  Circle  in  New  York,  430  ft.  in  diameter,  where 
six  important  streets  join  at  the  Columbus  ^Monument  (Fig. 
49,  p.  215).  Washington  has  many  open  spaces  at  the 
junctions  of  its  great  diagonal  avenues  with  each  other  and 
with  the  streets  of  the  rectangular  system.  These,  however, 
are  not  treated  as  traffic  centers  but  as  parks,  and  are  planted 
and  adorned  with  fountains,  monuments  or  statues  in  a  manner 
suited  to  a  great  national  capital. 


226  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

It  is  the  usual  practice  of  cities  to  fix  by  ordinance  the  road- 
way and  sidewalk  widths  of  all  streets,  and  the  roadway  is 
commonly  given  a  width  of  approximately  one-half  the  total 
street  width,  the  remaining  half  being  divided  between  the 
two  sidewalks.  In  New  York  such  an  ordinance  prescribes  the 
following  widths: 

Street  Width  Roadway  Width 

20  to  50  ft.,  not  occupied  by  a  railroad 60%  of  street  width 

50  to  60  ft.,  not  occupied  by  a  double-track  railroad. .  30  ft. 

60  to  66  ft.  8  in.,  occupied  by  a  double-track  railroad.   50%  of  street  width 

66  ft.  8  in.  and  over 80%  of  street  width 

less  20  ft. 

Standards  for  the  subdivision  of  street  widths  are 
undoubtedly  desirable  rather  than  leaving  these  details  to  be 
fixed  according  to  the  whim  of  the  developer  or  the  notions  of 
the  engineer  in  each  particular  case;  but  the  standards  adopted 
have  not  often  been  the  result  of  a  careful  study  of  the  needs 
of  traffic  of  various  classes.  One  line  of  vehicles  requires  for 
free  movement  about  eight  feet  of  roadway  width.  Two  lines 
in  each  direction,  or  one  standing  next  to  the  curb  and  the  other 
moving,  will  therefore  require  32  ft.,  although  30  ft.  is  gener- 
ally sufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  this  should  be  the  minimum 
width  for  business  streets  without  railway  tracks.  Provision 
for  an  odd  number  of  lines  of  traffic  is  not  justified,  as  the  odd  or 
middle  fine  would  be  obHged  to  accommodate  vehicles  moving 
in  both  directions  and  the  interference  would  be  so  great  that 
it  would  be  of  little  use.  In  case  there  are  railway  tracks  in 
the  street  special  treatment  will  be  necessary.  A  single-track 
railroad  will  use  about  nine  feet  of  width,  and  if  provision  is  to 
be  made  on  each  side  for  a  single  line  of  vehicles  in  addition, 
whether  standing  at  the  curb  or  moving,  at  least  25  ft.  of  road- 
way will  be  required.  The  New  York  city  ordinances  require 
not  less  than  30  ft.  where  there  is  a  single-track  road,  this 
allowing  for  exceptionally  wide  vehicles  such  as  moving  vans, 
ice  wagons  or  coal  trucks  standing  at  the  curb  without  inter- 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  227 

faring  with  the  free  movement  of  cars.  In  the  case  of  double 
railways  the  space  required  for  them  is  about  19  ft.,  and  a 
single  line  of  vehicles  on  each  side  would  require  a  total  roadway 
width  of  at  least  35  ft.,  and  for  two  lines  of  vehicles  51  ft.  The 
New  York  ordinance  requires  not  less  than  40  ft.  where  there 
are  double- track  railways.  This  is  somewhat  more  than  is 
needed  to  accommodate  one  Une  of  vehicles  on  each  side  of  the 
tracks,  but  not  enough  for  two  lines. 

While  in  nearly  all  cities  there  are  some  streets  whose  road- 
ways are  inadequate  for  the  traffic  which  they  attract,  there 
are  a  far  greater  number  whose  roadways  are  much  wider  than 
required.     This  means  a  needless  expense  to  the  owners  of  the 
abutting  property  for  the  original  improvement  and  a  serious 
burden  for  the  city  in  maintenance,  repairs  and  renewals.     Street 
traffic  gradually  increases  as  the  abutting  property  is  improved 
and  the  general  business  of  the  locality  increases.    While  it 
is  wise  to  lay  out  streets  of  sufficient  width  to  permit  as  inten- 
sive development  of  the  adjoining  property  as  the  ordinances 
will  allow,  there  is  no  good  reason  for  the  laying  and  main- 
tenance of  an  area  of  pavement  which  is  obviously  greater  than 
will  be  required  for  some  years  to  come.     A  residential  street 
63  ft.  in  width  will  not  need  a  roadway  30  ft.  wide  unless  it  is 
called  upon  to  accommodate  a  considerable  amount  of  through 
traffic.     Twenty  feet  or  even  less  would  in  most  cases  be  suffi- 
cient for  the  initial  improvement.     This  saving  of  ten  feet  in  the 
width  of  the  pavement  will  mean  a  substantial  decrease  in  the 
burden  of  assessment  for  the  first  improvement,  probably  as 
much  as  $30  for  each  25  ft.  of  frontage.     It  may  be  that  addi- 
tional roadway  width  will  not  be  required  during  the  hfetime 
of  the  first  pavement  or  even  of  two  pavements,  sometimes 
not  at  all.     When  more  space  is  needed  the  curb  can  be  set 
back  and  the  sewer  inlets  can  be  readjusted.     When  there  is 
such  a  reduction  in  width  the  street  appurtenances  back  of 
the  curb,  such  as  lamp  posts,  fire  hydrants  and  trees  can  be  so 
located  as  to  conform  with  the  ultimate  position  of  the  curb, 
so  that  it  may  be  set  back  when  necessary  with  a  minimum  of 


228  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

expense  and  disturbance  of  existing  conditions.  Such  a  policy, 
in  case  of  a  reduction  of  ten  feet  in  width,  would  save  the  prop- 
erty owners  on  a  block  700  ft.  long  about  $1500  in  the  first 
cost  of  their  pavement,  and  the  city  would  save  a  substantial 
sum  annually  for  maintenance.  When  a  widening  of  the 
roadway  is  required  the  cost  of  the  additional  pavement  can 
properly  be  assessed  upon  the  abutting  property. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the 
width  of  sidewalks  which  will  be  needed.  In  ordinary  streets 
pedestrian  traffic  varies  greatly  with  the  seasons  and  at  differ- 
ent times  of  day,  and  in  most  cases  there  is  an  excess  of  sidewalk 
space  which  can  advantageously  be  used  for  grass,  trees  and 
other  planting,  a  stone,  concrete  or  brick  walk  four  or  five  feet 
wide  being  all  that  is  required.  In  the  case  of  retail  shopping 
streets,  however,  more  generous  sidewalks  are  needed,  while 
in  such  narrow  thoroughfares  as  Hohe  strasse  in  Cologne  and 
Kalver  straat  in  Amsterdam,  the  busiest  shopping  streets  of 
these  cities,  the  pedestrians  use  the  roadways  as  well  as  the 
sidewalks,  especially  in  the  evenings.  In  the  financial  and 
office  districts  of  London,  New  York  and  other  large  cities  the 
same  use  of  the  entire  street  by  pedestrians  is  often  seen  during 
the  busy  hours  of  the  day,  when  vehicular  traffic  is  practically 
excluded.  Where  there  is  special  need  of  sidewalk  capacity 
on  narrow  streets  the  roadway  is  sometimes  reduced  to  a  width 
which  will  accommodate  but  a  single  vehicle  and  the  traffic 
is  confined  to  a  single  direction.  It  is  apparent,  therefore, 
that  no  general  principles  can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  relative 
amount  of  roadway  and  sidewalk  space  which  will  be  required. 
The  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  proportion  them  according 
to  anticipated  needs,  with  some  latitude,  where  possible,  for 
future  adjustment  of  the  curb  line  to  suit  changing  conditions; 
but  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  provide  for  the  throngs  that  are 
likely  to  flock  to  a  certain  street  on  one  or  two  days  in  the 
year  as,  for  example,  for  the  crowds  on  Fifth  avenue,  New  York, 
on  a  pleasant  Easter  Sunday  (PI.  59). 

Exceptionally  wide  streets,  of  which  there  are  some  in  every 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment 


229 


1^         ## 


XIII 


Fig.  51. — Showing  examples  from  various  cities  of  the  subdivision  of  wide 

streets. 
I.  Avenue  des  Champs  Elysees,  Paris.    VII.  Ring  strasse,  Vienna. 


II.  Stubel-Allee,  Dresden. 

III.  Adolfe-AUen,  Wiesbaden. 

IV.  Upper  Broadway,  New  York. 

V.  Bismarck  strasse,  Charlottenburg. 
VI.  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York. 


VIII.  Avenue  Louise,  Brussels. 

IX.  Ocean  Parkway,  Brooklyn. 
X.  Avenus  de  Tervueren,  Brussels. 

XI.  Kronprinzen  strasse,  Mannheim. 
XII.  Typical  boulevard,  Berlin. 


XIII.  Boulevard  between  Lille  and  Tourcoing. 


230  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

large  city,  present  a  special  class  of  problems.  It  is  impossible 
to  formulate  any  but  the  most  general  principles  by  which  plans 
for  their  subdivision  should  be  governed.  Not  only  do  the 
conditions  vary  in  each  particular  case,  but  there  is  a  great 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  personal  judgment  and  taste. 
A  discussion  of  the  different  conditions  which  may  exist  and  the 
different  ways  in  which  the  same  problem  may  be  solved  will 
be  of  less  value  than  a  few  examples  of  the  treatment  adopted 
for  a  number  of  wide  streets  in  some  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
world.  Such  examples  are  shown  in  Fig.  51.  The  simple 
dignity  of  the  Avenue  des  Champs  Elysees,  260  ft.  wide  with 
its  single  roadway  114  ft.  in  width,  renders  it  one  of  the  most 
notable  streets  in  the  world,  if  it  is  not  indeed  the  most  notable. 
It  was  a  daring  treatment,  however,  which  could  only  be  success- 
ful in  such  a  street  with  the  spacious  Place  de  la  Concorde  at 
one  end  and  the  great  Arc  de  Triomphe  at  the  other.  Streets 
of  this  exceptional  width  are  usually  divided  into  two  or  three 
roadways,  one  of  which  is  commonly  restricted  to  pleasure 
traffic.  The  Grand  Boulevard  and  Concourse  in  the  Bor- 
ough of  The  Bronx,  New  York,  notwithstanding  its  pretentious 
name,  offers  an  example  of  a  great  excess  of  roadway  capacity 
with  an  almost  complete  absence  of  the  decorative  features 
which  its  width  would  suggest  and  permit.  A  plan  for  its 
rearrangement  has  been  devised  which  will  attempt  to  correct 
this  defect.  Both  the  present  and  proposed  arrangement  are 
shown  by  Fig.  52. 

Surface  railway  tracks  are  frequently  located  in  streets  of 
this  kind  and  their  position  varies  greatly,  as  will  appear  from 
the  illustrations.  While  such  tracks  are  sometimes  placed  in 
the  wide  roadway  which  is  especially  adapted  to  pleasure 
traffic,  it  is  better  to  put  them  in  the  side  roadways.  Two 
tracks  are  in  some  cases  placed  in  a  single  one  of  the  side  road- 
ways, a  serious  objection  to  this  arrangement  being  that  while 
some  of  those  wishing  to  use  the  surface  cars  may  reach  those 
going  in  both  directions  without  crossing  the  central  driveway, 
all  who  Uve  or  do  business  on  the  other  side  of  the  wide  street 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  231 

are  obliged  to  cross  the  central  and  one  side  roadway  in  order 
to  reach  or  leave  cars  going  in  either  direction.  Railway  tracks 
are  occasionally  placed  in  one  of  the  parking  spaces,  but  it  is 
difficult  under  such  circumstances  to  maintain  the  grass  in 
good  condition,  and  the  space  used  for  this  purpose  is  neither 
a  successful  parked  area  nor  a  simple  railroad  right  of  way. 
A  conspicuously  successful  instance  of  this  treatment  is  found 
in  Bismarck  strasse,  Charlottenburg,  where  between    the  mu- 


#  0 


II  I    I  I    I  I  I 

I  I  I   ,1  I     I  I 

*< 20^ >i* 34' H4+! 66^ 444< 34^ 4> 20 

'                                                                                              ,  I 

t* 182^ >\ 

J  PRESENT  ARRANGEMENT 


PROPOSED  REARRANGEMENT 


Fig.  52. — An  instance  of  excessive  provision  for  roadways  on  a  very  wide 
street  to  the  exclusion  of  parking  features.  The  proposed  rearrangement 
corrects  this  in  part,  but  might  well  have  gone  farther. 

nicipally  owned  and  operated  surface  railroad  tracks  excellent 
turf  is  maintained  and  the  space  in  which  the  tracks  are  located 
is  edged  with  flowering  plants,  and  for  a  portion  of  the  distance 
by  vines  planted  at  intervals  and  festooned  to  standards  placed 
midway  between  them.  Such  success  is  so  rare,  however,  as 
to  render  the  plan  an  unsafe  one  to  follow  under  the  conditions 
which  usually  prevail,  especially  where  the  railway  is  owned 
and  operated,  not  by  the  municipality  but  by  a  public-service 
corporation,  the  chief  interest  of  which  is  naturally  in  dividends, 


232  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

which  will  be  reduced  by  expenditures  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
making  its  right  of  way  attractive.  An  instance  of  an  elevated 
railroad  located  in  the  central  portion  of  a  very  wide  street 
with  space  for  planting  on  each  side  of  the  structure  has 
already  been  noted.     (Fig.  ii,  p.  79  and  PL  10). 

A  special  problem  is  presented  in  the  subdivision  of  boule- 
vards, especially  those  which  are  150  ft.  or  more  in  width,  some 
possible  solutions  of  this  problem  being  shown  in  Fig.  51.  A 
report  made  by  Olmsted  Brothers  to  the  Essex  County  Park  Com- 
mission of  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  June,  191 5,  contains  some  interest- 
ing observations  on  this  subject.  They  divide  boulevards  into 
three  classes,  depending,  not  upon  their  width,  but  upon  whether 
they  have  one,  two  or  three  driveways.  Those  of  the  first  class 
may  vary  from  streets  100  ft.  or  even  less  in  width,  with  such 
provision  for  trees  or  shrubs  as  the  width  may  permit,  to  streets 
as  wide  as  150  ft.,  with  one  broad  driveway  and  wide  grass 
borders  with  a  double  row  of  trees  on  each  side.  Boulevards 
of  the  second  class  are  said  to  be  the  most  popular  with  the 
owners  or  occupants  of  abutting  real  estate.  The  central 
space  between  the  two  driveways  can  be  treated  in  a  variety  of 
ways  and  in  a  more  ornamental  manner  than  the  side  grass 
plots  in  cases  where  there  is  a  single  driveway.  It  is  possible  to 
introduce  the  two  driveways  in  boulevards  not  more  than  100 
ft.  in  width,  but  the  narrowness  of  the  drives  and  planting 
strips  are  hkely  to  make  such  a  boulevard  "  look  like  a  big, 
handsome  idea  meanly  carried  out."  One  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  is  said  to  be  about  the  least  width  at  which  such  an  arrange- 
ment can  be  successfully  employed.  Boulevards  of  the  third 
class  involve  a  good  deal  of  expense,  and  the  central  or  wide 
driveway  is  usually  devoted  to  pleasure  traffic  and,  where 
possible,  the  grades  of  this  driveway  and  those  of  the  cross 
streets  are  sometimes  separated.  In  the  report  referred  to  there 
is  a  suggestion  for  the  treatment  of  a  parkway  400  ft.  in  width 
with  twelve  rows  of  trees,  four  railway  tracks,  and  six  road- 
ways, the  subdivision  being  as  follows: 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment 


233 


12  tree  strips,  each  6  ft.  wide 72  ft. 

2  sidewalks,  each  8  ft.  wide 16  " 

2  promenades,  each  12  ft.  wide 24  " 

2  roadways  for  local  automobile  traffic,  each  24  ft.  wide  48  " 

2  roadways  for  horse  vehicles,  each  24  ft.  wide 48  " 

2  automobile  roadways  for  fast  trafiftc,  each  26  ft.  wide.  .  52  " 

2  spaces  for  local  electric  surface  railways,  each  12  ft.  wide  24  " 

1  double-track  rapid-transit  railway 28  "  ' 

2  spaces  for  slopes  and  retaining  walls 76  " 

3  lines  of  dividing  walls  and  curbing,  each  4  ft.  wide.  ...  12  " 

400  ft. 

Among  the  most  important  adjuncts  of  the  city  street  are 
the  various  structures  beneath  the  surface.  These  being  out 
of  sight  and  Httle  in  evidence,  the  importance  of  their  location 


Fig.  53. — A  typical  section  showing  the   sub-surface    structures  in  Broadway, 

New  York. 


and  control  is  not  so  apparent  to  the  casual  observer  as  are  the 
more  obtrusive  but  not  more  important  structures  above  ground, 
except  when  the  street  surfaces  are  torn  up  for  the  repair  of 
old  or  the  installation  of  new  sewers,  pipes  or  conduits.  The 
work  of  building  them  is  often  so  indifferently  performed  that 
repairs  or  renewals  are  frequently  required,  and  their  arrange- 
ment is  often  so  unsystematic  that  the  work  of  repair  or  renewal 
is  slow,  costly  and  attended  with  great  pubUc  inconvenience 
and  discomfort.  A  typical  instance  of  the  great  number  of 
underground  structures  is  shown  by  the  section  of  Broadway, 
New  York  (Fig.  53).  It  is  often  urged  that  the  only  effec- 
tive remedy  for  this  nuisance  is  to  build  subways  for  the  accom- 
modation of  all  sub-surface  structures  and  thus  put  an  end  to 


234  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  constant  mutilation  of  street  pavements.  The  cost  of  doing 
so  would  be  enormous,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  disturbance 
of  business,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  such  an  undertaking  would  be 
justified  except  in  connection  with  the  creation  of  a  new  street 
or  the  widening  or  reconstruction  of  an  old  one. 

The  first  subways  for  the  express  purpose  of  accommodating 
pipes  and  mains  were  built  in  London.  In  1846  the  Metro- 
poHtan  Board  considered  the  cutting  through  from  Longacre 
to  Covent  Garden  Market  of  what  is  now  known  as  Garrick 
street,  which  was  completed  and  opened  to  traffic  in  1861.  In 
the  history  of  London  street  improvements  by  Mr.  Percy  J. 
Edwards  will  be  found  the  following  relating  to  this  under- 
taking : 

"  Before  forming  the  new  thoroughfare  the  Board  directed 
its  attention  to  the  adoption  of  some  means  for  obviating  the 
expense  and  inconvenience  attending  the  breaking  up  of  the 
pavement  for  the  repair  of  pipes,  mains,  sewers  and  other 
underground  works.  The  Board  issued  advertisements  offer- 
ing six  premiums,  the  highest  being  one  hundred  guineas  and 
the  lowest  five  guineas,  for  the  best  designs  for  laying  out  of 
the  surface  of  new  streets  and  for  the  disposition  of  the 
vaults,  sewers  and  other  underground  works,  with  the  result 
that  39  designs  were  sent  in.  The  Board  decided  to  give 
practical  adaptation  to  some  of  the  designs,  and  accordingly 
arranged  for  the  construction  under  the  new  street  of  an 
arched  subway  for  gas  and  water  mains,  etc.,  the  subway 
being  7I  ft.  in  height  by  12  ft.  in  width,  in  addition  to 
which  14  arched  side  passages  for  house-service  pipes,  together 
with  proper  cellarage  on  each  side  of  the  street,  were  con- 
structed." In  the  creation  of  Southwark  street  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Thames,  completed  in  1864,  Commercial  road, 
opened  to  the  public  in  1868,  Queen  Victoria  street,  opened  in 
1870,  Northumberland  avenue  in  1876,  and  other  subsequent 
improvements,  provision  was  made  for  the  inclusion  of  pipe 
subways  in  the  original  construction  of  the  streets.  The  pipe 
subways  of  London  are  partly  under  the  control  of  the  London 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  235 

County  Council  and  partly  under  that  of  the  Corporation  of 
the  City  of  London.  Those  of  the  London  County  Council 
occupy  1 6  separate  streets,  in  three  of  which  there  are  double 
subways,  or  one  on  each  side,  the  total  length  of  all  sizes  amount- 
ing to  35,940  ft.  Those  under  control  of  the  Corporation  of 
the  City  of  London  occupy  15  different  streets,  in  one  of 
which  there  are  subways  on  both  sides,  the  total  length  of  all 
sizes  being  8,124  ft.  The  number  of  underground  structures 
in  the  streets  of  London  are  fewer  and  they  are  smaller  than  in 
those  of  many  American  cities.  For  instance,  in  the  pipe  sub- 
ways under  the  control  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Lon- 
don 75  per  cent  of  the  total  length  is  occupied  by  but  one  water 
main,  while  69  per  cent  of  the  total  length  of  water  pipe  is 
5  in.  or  less  in  diameter  and  none  of  them  exceeds  14  in. 
Forty-four  per  cent  of  the  total  length  contains  but  one  gas 
pipe,  and  of  the  total  length  of  gas  pipe  73  per  cent  is  8  in. 
or  less  in  diameter  with  a  maximum  of  24  in.  In  three  typical 
subways  in  the  busiest  streets  of  London,  the  inside  dimensions 
in  each  case  being  12  by  7I  ft.,  the  average  of  the  combined 
cross  sectional  area  of  the  pipes  and  conduits  was  found  to  be 
6.17  sq.  ft.  At  two  typical  sections  of  Broadway,  New  York, 
the  average  combined  area  of  similar  structures  was  found  to 
be  44.05  sq.  ft.,  or  more  than  seven  times  as  great,  while  at 
two  places  in  Canal  street  the  average  was  30.7  sq.  feet,  or  five 
times  as  great  as  in  the  London  subways. 

Although  London  began  building  pipe  subways  in  1861  their 
total  length  is  now  less  than  eight  and  a  half  miles.  In  explana- 
tion of  the  very  limited  mileage  which  has  been  constructed 
it  is  said  that  only  when  a  new  street  is  created  or  an  old  street 
is  widened  or  straightened  is  any  attempt  made  to  build  pipe 
subways,  and  that  the  expense  of  constructing  them  in  exist- 
ing streets  simply  for  the  accommodation  of  underground  struc- 
tures would  be  so  great  as  to  be  out  of  proportion  to  the  bene- 
fits to  be  derived.  Nottingham  was  the  first  city  to  follow 
the  example  of  London  in  providing  subways  for  the  accom- 
modation of  underground  structures,  this  having  been  done  in 


236  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Victoria  and  Queen  streets  in  the  year  following  the  construc- 
tion of  the  first  subway  in  London;  but  the  total  length  of 
streets  provided  with  this  construction  is  very  limited,  not  ex- 
ceeding about  half  a  mile.  Mr.  Arthur  Brown,  the  borough 
engineer,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Incorporated  Association  of 
Municipal  and  County  Engineers  in  April,  1892,  says:  "To 
show  the  value  of  such  works  in  the  street  called  Victoria  street, 
in  which  is  situated  the  general  post-office,  there  are,  besides 
the  gas  and  water  pipes  and  connections,  no  less  than  six  pipes 
containing  telegraph  wires  in  this  subway,  and  not  one  single 
stone  was  disturbed  in  this  carriageway  for  twenty-five  years, 
and  in  that  period  not  one  single  penny  was  spent  in  repairs  on 
the  street." 

Except  for  one  pipe  subway  2040  ft.  long  in  St.  Helens  and 
a  short  piece  345  ft.  long  in  Glasgow  no  other  construction  of 
this  kind  has  been  undertaken  in  Great  Britain,  while,  so  far 
as  the  author  knows,  the  only  subway  built  for  the  exclusive 
accommodation  of  pipes  and  conduits  on  the  Continent  is  a 
short  one  in  the  Via  Dante  in  Milan. 

One  of  the  advantages  which  have  been  claimed  for  the  large 
sewers  of  Paris  is  that  they  can  accommodate  the  various  pipes  and 
wires  which  are  ordinarily  placed  beneath  the  roadway,  thereby 
avoiding  the  disturbance  of  the  pavement.  It  was  formerly 
the  practice  to  place  gas  mains  in  the  sewers,  but  owing  to  several 
explosions,  attended  by  serious  and  fatal  results,  it  was  decided 
forty  or  more  years  ago  not  to  admit  gas  pipes  to  the  Paris 
sewers.  These  pipes,  together  with  electric  light  and  power  con- 
ductors, are  now  placed  under  the  sidewalks,  and  the  engineers 
in  charge  of  the  sewers  say  that  they  still  consider  the  former 
practice  dangerous  and  never  permit  gas  pipes  to  be  placed  in  the 
sewers,  which,  besides  providing  for  drainage,  accommodate 
the  telephone  and  telegraph  wires,  the  water  mains  for  the 
dual  service,  pneumatic  tubes  and  hydraulic  power  pipes.  A 
few  years  ago  frequent  reference  was  made  to  the  admirable 
condition  of  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  it  was  claimed  that  this 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  all  of  the  underground  structures  were 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  237 

accommodated  in  its  roomy,  well-ventilated  and  well-lighted 
sewers.  But  Paris  appears  to  have  been  going  through  a  period 
of  underground  railway  and  other  construction.  A  special 
despatch  to  the  New  York  Times,  dated  June  20,  1914,  and  pub- 
lished the  following  day,  commented  upon  conditions  in  the 
streets  of  Paris  caused  by  settlements  and  the  caving  in  of  pave- 
ments following  severe  storms  and  resulting  from  excavations 
for  underground  railways  and  other  sub-surface  structures.  It 
was  stated  that  in  the  Boulevard  Haussmann  the  pavement 
opened  and  a  taxicab  was  swallowed  up  and  that  in  another 
street  fifty  persons  were  engulfed  when  the  sidewalk  suddenly 
disappeared.  It  was  also  said  that  four  times  during  the 
preceding  six  months  the  pavement  in  the  Rue  St.  Honore  had 
been  torn  up  and  replaced:  first,  to  lay  a  new  gas  main ;  second, 
to  remove  an  old  gas  main;  third,  to  lay  new  drain  pipes;  and 
fourth,  to  put  down  new  tramway  lines.  The  engineers  and  city 
officials  were  said  to  be  offering  diverse  explanations,  one  blam- 
ing the  subsoil,  loosened  by  the  floods  of  19 10,  another  the 
settlement  caused  by  the  bursting  of  sewers,  while  another 
accepted  the  consequences  of  the  storm  as  a  divine  visitation. 
The  prefect  of  the  Seine  is  quoted  as  making  the  following  state- 
ment: "  The  city  is  a  gigantic  mole-hill,  undermined  in  every 
direction.  It  is  nothing  but  a  labyrinth  of  railway  tunnels, 
pipes  and  cables  underground,  and  additions  to  and  enlarge- 
ments of  these  disturb  the  subsoil  dangerously.  The  new  sub- 
way tunnel  is  responsible  for  the  disaster.  The  only  remedy 
is  Paris  must  demoHsh  the  fortifications  and  increase  outward. 
She  is  now  over-congested  within  her  boundaries  both  above 
and  below  ground." 

Two  exceptionally  well-paved  cities  are  Liverpool  and  Berlin, 
in  the  former  the  street  pavements  being  largely  of  stone  block 
and  in  the  latter  of  asphalt,  and  in  neither  are  to  be  found  the 
evidences  of  frequent  disturbance  of  the  pavement  surface  so 
often  seen  in  American  cities.  Yet  neither  of  them  has  pipe 
subways.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  this  condition  is  due 
to  efi5cient  administration  under  which  the  various  pipes  and 


238  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

conduits  are  arranged  in  an  orderly  manner  and  are  laid  with 
great  care,  and  that  when  openings  are  made  the  surface  is 
promptly  and  thoroughly  replaced.  It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that,  owing  to  the  smaller  consumption  of  water  and  gas 
and  to  the  less  general  use  of  the  telephone  and  electric  Ught, 
the  size  and  number  of  the  sub-surface  structures  are  smaller 
and  the  number  of  openings  under  the  same  conditions  would 
be  less  than  is  the  case  in  American  cities. 

Perhaps  the  street  details  most  obtrusively  in  evidence  in 
the  business  thoroughfares  of  the  average  city  are  those  inci- 
dental to  the  inevitable  street  surface  railroad,  usually  of  the 
over-head  trolley  type.  No  more  economical  and  in  many 
respects  no  more  efficient  means  of  transportation  has  yet 
been  devised.  When  the  city  owns  and  operates  the  lines 
such  service  is  considered  as  much  a  municipal  activity  as  the 
supplying  of  water  or  gas  or  the  repairing  and  cleaning  of  the 
streets.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  the  railway  structures, 
whether  on,  below  or  above  the  street  surface,  should  be  consid- 
ered as  appurtenances  to  the  streets.  When  these  railways 
are  owned  and  operated  by  public-service  corporations  under 
franchises  acquired,  often  in  perpetuity  and  without  adequate 
compensation  for  the  privilege,  there  is  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  the  operating  companies  to  regard  the  use  of  the  streets 
for  such  purpose  as  the  best  to  which  they  could  be  put,  and  to 
feel  that  the  railways,  which  undoubtedly  serve  more  people 
than  any  or  all  other  means  of  transit,  should  not  be  impeded 
by  other  traffic.  This  view,  while  generally  accepted  by  the 
public  when  applied  to  pubHcly  owned  and  operated  Hnes,  is 
not  likely  to  be  acquiesced  in  when  they  are  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  independent  corporations.  The  tracks  themselves,  if 
the  rails  are  of  proper  shape  and  are  well  laid,  do  not  offer 
any  serious  obstruction  to  vehicular  traffic.  In  fact,  most 
vehicles,  having  the  same  gauge  as  the  tracks,  find  movement 
along  them  somewhat  easier  than  on  the  pavement.  But  the 
construction  is  not  always  as  substantial  as  it  might  be,  the 
rail  heads  are  frequently  of  such  shape  as  to  offer  serious  obstruc- 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  239 

tion  to  the  movement  of  vehicles,  while  switches,  turnouts 
and  crossings  break  up  the  pavement  surface  very  badly  and 
are  productive  of  nerve-racking  noise.  The  most  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  usual  type  of  street  railway,  however,  is  the 
system  of  overhead  wires  and  the  poles  supporting  them, 
and  in  some  cases  also  the  heavy  feed  wires  which  supply 
the  current.  On  straight  streets  with  no  turnouts  the  wires, 
while  unsightly,  are  not  always  the  most  conspicuous  objects 
in  sight,  but  at  the  crossing  of  two  railway  hues,  where  there 
are  curves  at  several,  and  sometimes  at  all,  of  the  corners, 
the  intricate  system  of  supporting  wires  and  those  required  to 
give  the  overhead  conductors  curves  corresponding  with 
those  of  the  tracks  fill  so  large  a  portion  of  the  field  of  view  that 
those  passing  along  the  street  can  see  little  else.  At  important 
street  junctions,  where  many  different  lines  of  railway  center, 
there  is  frequently  an  open  space  occupied  by  a  statue  or  foun- 
tain or  something  which  is  intended  to  arrest  attention  and 
emphasize  the  importance  of  this  particular  spot  in  the  life  of 
the  city;  but,  however  well  designed  this  feature  may  be,  and 
however  appropriate  its  location  with  respect  to  the  general 
plan,  the  overhead  wires  make  such  peremptory  demand  upon 
one's  attention  that  little  is  left  for  other  details.  On  Man- 
hattan Island  in  New  York  no  such  wires  are  permitted,  except 
that  several  of  the  surface  lines  from  the  upper  side  of  the 
Harlem  River  are  allowed  to  run  a  few  blocks  on  the  island 
with  their  overhead  conductors  in  order  to  connect  with  some 
of  the  important  transit  routes.  Although  by  their  refusal 
to  allow  overhead  trolley  construction  the  municipal  authori- 
ties doomed  New  York  to  a  survival  of  the  horse  car  long 
after  it  had  disappeared  from  almost  every  other  town,  this 
was  not  too  great  a  price  to  pay  in  order  to  keep  the  space 
above  the  streets  unobstructed.  The  alternative  is  the  under- 
ground contact  with  the  slotted  rail  in  the  center  of  the  track, 
although  in  some  European  cities  one  of  the  running  rails  is 
slotted  and  the  power  obtained  through  it.  One  advantage 
of  the  underground  contact  is  that  the  track  is  necessarily  more 


240  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

substantial  and  the  pavement  along  it  can  be  more  readily 
maintained,  although  the  central  slotted  rail  involves  an  extra 
subdivision  of  the  pavement  for  each  track.  The  construc- 
tion is  also  more  expensive,  as  indicated  by  the  relative  costs 
of  the  different  types  of  railway  construction  given  in  the  chapter 
on  Transportation,  and  this  additional  cost  would  doubtless  be 
prohibitive  in  small  towns  or  in  the  outlying  districts  of  large 
cities  where  traffic  is  hght.  Standards  located  between  the 
tracks  with  brackets  from  which  the  overhead  contact  wires 
are  suspended  reduce  the  disfigurement  of  the  streets,  but 
offer  serious  obstruction  to  street  traffic. 

The  lighting  of  public  streets  and  open  spaces  has  been  the 
subject  of  much  painstaking  investigation,  having  for  its  pur- 
pose not  only  effective  illumination  but  an  addition  to  the 
beauty  of  the  street.  Very  attractive  and  costly  lamp  standards 
have  been  employed  on  bridges  and  in  front  of  pubhc  buildings 
and  at  important  street  junctions,  and  sometimes  on  entire 
streets,  but  only  lately  have  attempts  been  made  to  provide 
for  all  streets  standards  which,  while  simply  designed  and  of 
inexpensive  material,  are  really  attractive.  A  number  of  the 
more  ambitious  designs  were  illustrated  in  Volume  IV  of  the 
Town  Planning  Review,  pages  292  to  296,  and  a  number  of 
examples  of  modern  electric  light  standards  and  the  effective 
lighting  of  streets  are  shown  by  the  illustrations  (Pis.  60  and  61). 
The  illumination  of  important  buildings  has  also  received  much 
attention,  and  strikingly  beautiful  results  have  been  obtained 
by  indirect  lighting,  notably  in  the  case  of  the  Public  Library 
and  the  Woolworth  Tower  in  New  York,  while  a  grand  climax 
seems  to  have  been  reached  in  the  illumination  of  the  build- 
ings at  the  San  Francisco  Exposition  of  191 5.  Through  the 
courtesy  of  the  New  York  Edison  Company  some  excellent 
examples  of  the  recent  developments  of  the  art  of  lighting  are 
shown  (Pis.  62,  63,  64  and  65).  An  exhaustive  paper  on  the 
fighting  of  streets  was  presented  at  the  International  Road 
Congress  held  in  London,  in  1913,  by  Dr.  Clayton  H.  Sharp.^ 

1  Proceedings  of  the  London  International  Road  Congress,  1913,  paper  No.  37, 
by  Dr.  Clayton  H.  Sharp. 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  241 

This  paper  discusses  not  only  the  best  methods  of  distributing 
the  power  by  which  light  is  produced  and  the  efficiency  of 
different  methods  of  lighting,  but  also  the  effect  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  street  or  road  surface  and  the  question  of  whether 
the  chief  object  of  street  lighting  should  be  the  illumination  of 
the  street  surface  or  of  the  objects  in  and  along  the  street.  It 
is  pointed  out  that  while  a  clean,  dry  asphalt  or  waterbound 
macadam  surface  requires  relatively  little  illumination  to  render 
objects  visible,  an  asphalted  street  when  wet  or  oily  or  a  mac- 
adam surface  which  has  been  treated  with  oil  or  tar  without  the 
addition  of  sufficient  stone  top  dressing  requires  high  illumina- 
tion to  produce  the  same  effect.  Experiments  are  referred  to 
which  show  by  actual  measurement  that  the  illumination  of 
an  asphalt  paved  street  is  three  times  as  effective  as  that  of  a 
street  paved  with  stone  block,  owing  chiefly  to  the  better 
reflecting  power  of  the  asphalt  surface. 

One  of  the  essential  though  minor  adjuncts  of  city  streets 
are  the  signs  bearing  the  names  of  the  streets.  While  they 
should  not  be  obtrusive,  they  should  still  be  sufficiently  con- 
spicuous to  attra'ct  the  attention  of  those  passing  them,  whether 
walking  or  riding.  While  not  large,  they  should  be  so  plain  a> 
to  be  easily  read.  These  signs  have  been  made  of  almost  every 
material  suitable  for  such  use,  and  have  been  placed  in  every 
possible  position.  The  commonest  type  of  sign  is  the  enamelled 
plate  affixed  to  the  corner  of  a  building,  white  letters  on  a  blue 
ground  being  the  most  easily  read.  The  street  names  were 
formerly  cut  into  the  stone  of  the  buildings,  but  they  never 
showed  distinctly  and  in  a  few  years  became  almost  illegible. 
It  is  difficult  to  provide  signs  which  are  readily  distinguishable 
at  night.  When  the  old  open-flame  gas  street  lamp  was  in 
general  use,  street  names  on  glass  plates  attached  to  them 
served  the  purpose.  When  electricity  displaced  gas  for  street 
illumination  the  old  lamp  standards  continued  to  serve  as 
supports  for  street  signs  and  in  some  cases  illuminated  signs 
continued  to  be  used,  this  involving  the  burning  of  a  gas 
jet    inside   of   them    at  night.     Some  of  these  signs  were  of 


242  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City- 

very  good  design,  but  they  are   seldom   used  at   the  present 
time. 

Such  details  as  fire  hydrants  and  sewer  inlets  are  essential, 
and  their  efficiency  is  the  first  consideration,  the  former  to  be 
readily  accessible,  frost  proof  and  sure  of  operation,  the  latter 
to  take  care  of  surface  water  during  the  heaviest  storms.  To 
attempt  to  make  the  fire  hydrant  a  thing  of  beauty  would 
probably  result  in  making  it  ridiculous,  and  this  is  even  more 
true  of  the  sewer  inlet,  which  has  lately  been  made  less  obtru- 
sive. The  great  gaping  openings  formerly  so  common  were 
not  only  very  ugly,  but  involved  a  certain  element  of  danger, 
and  there  have  been  instances  of  children  having  fallen  or 
having  been  washed  into  them;  but  statements  that  such 
casualties  were  not  uncommon  are  gross  exaggerations  which 
have  been  indulged  in  by  some  writers.  There  is  no  more 
utilitarian  adjunct  of  a  city  street  than  a  sewer  inlet,  which  must 
do  the  work  for  which  it  was  designed.  When  rainfalls  of 
great  intensity  are  Hkely  to  occur  these  inlets  must  be  of 
adequate  capacity,  but  this  can  be  done  by  making  the 
openings    longer    rather    than   higher,    as   in    Pasadena,    Cal. 

(PI.  58). 

There  is  no  one  thing  that  tends  to  make  a  city  street  as 
attractive  as  planting.  Well-kept  grass  plots  and  well-selected 
shrubs  give  streets  a  certain  distinction,  but  nothing  dignifies 
them  so  much  as  rows  of  fine,  healthy  trees.  As  Mr.  C.  M. 
Robinson  says:  "  In  the  mental  picture  of  a  beautiful  city  or 
village  the  tree  has  an  inseparable  part."  Where  the  streets 
are  only  wide  enough  to  permit  a  single  row  of  trees  on  each 
side  it  has  been  the  custom  to  place  them  just  back  of  the  curb. 
Where  the  buildings  are  on  the  street  line  this  may  be  necessary, 
but  the  space  about  the  trees  is  so  completely  covered  by  stone 
or  concrete  flags  that  they  have  a  hard  struggle  for  existence. 
Even  where  the  buildings  are  set  back  from  the  street  Une,  this 
habit  as  to  the  location  of  the  trees  persists.  In  such  cases,  if 
they  were  placed  inside  the  walk  at  or  near  the  street  hne,  with 
turf  about  them,  they  would  not  only  thrive  better,  but  the 


PLATE  60 


The  upper  view  is  an  example  of  effective  street  ligiiting  by  clusters  of 
incandescent  lights  on  low  standards.  The  lower  views  show  the  great  im- 
provement which  has  lately  taken  place  in  the  design  of  lamp  standards  both  for 
special  and  general  use  (p.  240), 


PLATE  61 


Examples  of  generous  street  lighting  and  of  the  variety  of  lamp  standards 
found  in  the  towns  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  many  of  which  are  admirably  suited 
to  their  environment  (pp.  240  and  244), 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  243 

street  would  acquire  added  dignity  and  appear  wider  (PL 
66).  The  details  in  two  streets  may  be  identical,  the  setback 
of  the  houses  the  same,  the  distance  between  curb  lines  the 
same,  and  the  trees  about  the  same  size,  yet  there  is  a  dignity 
and  an  impression  of  greater  width  where  the  trees  are  set  back 
on  the  street  line  which  is  lacking  where  they  are  in  their  usual 
places  next  to  the  curb.  It  is  unfortunate  that  tree  planting 
is  quite  generally  left  to  the  real  estate  developer,  who  is  free 
to  carry  out  any  scheme  which  seems  to  suit  his  fancy,  not  only 
with  respect  to  the  selection  of  the  kind  of  trees  to  be  used  on 
each  street,  but  as  to  their  location.  Washington  is  one  of  the 
few  American  cities  that  has  given  this  matter  the  attention 
which  it  deserves,  a  consistent  scheme  of  planting  having  been 
worked  out  for  each  street,  and  this  wise  policy  has  contributed 
in  no  small  degree  to  making  Washington  the  beautiful  city  that 
it  is.  As  Mr.  Charles  D.  Lay  has  well  said:  "  Tree  planting 
cannot  safely  be  left  to  individual  enterprise,  for  a  tree  out 
of  place  is  just  as  objectionable  as  any  other  misplaced 
object."  The  book  by  Mr.  William  Solotaroff  devoted  to 
this  subject  is  well  worthy  the  careful  study  of  those  who 
are  responsible  for  the  planting  and  care  of  trees  in  city 
streets.^ 

The  street  details  already  considered  are  those  over  which 
the  municipal  authorities  have  control  and  which  are  installed 
by  the  city  at  pubHc  expense  or  by  public-service  corporations 
under  a  certain  degree  of  public  control.  Most  of  them  are 
utilitarian  in  purpose,  and  the  effort  to  make  them  attractive 
has  resulted  from  the  higher  standard  of  public  taste  which  has 
recently  been  developed.  Some  of  the  structures  which  might 
be  classed  as  street  details  have  been  referred  to  in  the  chapter 
on  Public  Buildings.  Many  of  the  most  effective  adjuncts 
of  city  streets  have  been  supplied  by  real  estate  developers, 
some  within  the  street  lines  and  others  on  private  property. 
Developments  on  an  extensive  scale  have  been  undertaken  where 

1 "  Shade  Trees  in  Towns  and  Cities,"  by  William  Solotaroff,  1911. 


244  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

a  street  plan  has  already  been  adopted  but,  the  streets  not 
having  been  taken  over  by  the  city,  the  owners  have  been  able 
to  carry  out  their  own  ideas  without  the  approval  of  the  public 
authorities.  In  some  instances  they  have,  with  little  or  no 
departure  from  a  conventional  rectangular  plan  which  may 
have  been  imposed  upon  the  territory,  been  able,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  central  parkways,  the  judicious  planting  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  the  erection  of  ornamental  columns  at  the  bound- 
aries of  the  property,  the  imposition  of  setback  restrictions 
and  stipulations  as  to  the  position  of  buildings  with  respect 
to  the  lot  hues,  to  give  a  distinctive  character  to  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  has  added  greatly  to  its  attractiveness  and 
has  materially  increased  property  values.  Such  successful 
treatment  of  details  is  to  be  found  at  Forest  Hills  Gardens, 
New  York,  examples  of  which  are  shown  on  PI.  67.  In  this 
development,  which  is  more  particularly  described  in  the 
chapter  on  Garden  Cities,  the  rectangular  plan  of  the  adjoin- 
ing sections  was  entirely  disregarded,  as  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  Fig.  59,  p.  310.  Another  of  the  many  examples 
which  might  be  given  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent, 
at  San  Francisco,  where  the  suburban  development  illustrated 
by  Fig.  60  in  the  chapter  on  Garden  Cities  includes  a  number 
of  ornamental  details  which  are  well  designed  and  executed 
(PI.  tS),  and  here  also  are  the  simple  little  lamp  standards 
covered  with  flowering  vines.     (Shown  in  P..  61.) 

Some  of  the  most  successful  attempts  to  introduce  attrac- 
tive street  details  are  to  be  found  in  private  streets  or  places — 
that  is,  short  streets  or  courts  not  recognized  by  or  included 
in  the  city  plan  and  over  which  the  developer,  and  after  him 
the  purchasers  of  the  plots,  retain  and  exercise  entire  control, 
maintaining  at  their  own  expense  the  roadway  pavements, 
sidewalks,  planting,  etc.  St.  Louis  is  conspicuous  for  these 
places,  some  modest  and  others  quite  pretentious.  Several 
views  showing  their  arrangement  are  illustrated  (Pis.  '9  and  70). 
The  nature  of  the  restrictions  imposed  by  covenants  between 
the  developers  and  purchasers   of  plots  are    indicated    by  the 


PLATE  62 


The  lighting  of  Fifth  avenue  and  the  high  office  buildings  of  lower  Man- 
hattan, New  York.  These  and  the  views  on  Pis.  63,  64  and  65  are  reproduced 
from  photographs  kindly  furnished  by  the  New  York  Edison  Co.  (p.  240). 


PLATE  63 


The  Boston  State  House  at  night  and   the  battery  of  lights  by  which   it  is 
illuminated  (p.  240). 


Street  Details — Utility  and  Adornment  245 

following  typical  provisions  applying  to  one  of  the  more  modest 
places,  which  were  furnished  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  John 
Noyes  of  the  Missouri  Botanical  Garden: 

Private  residences  only  may  be  erected  with  such  stables 
or  other  subsidiary  buildings  as  may  be  appurtenant,  in  ordinary 
use  in  St.  Louis,  to  a  private  residence.  Building  lines  are 
established  as  to  all  property  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  that  on 
one  side  being  17  ft.  and  on  the  other  30  ft.  back  of  the  street 
line,  although  porches  and  steps  may  extend  seven  feet  beyond 
the  building  line  so  established  in  the  former  case,  and  eight  feet 
in  the  latter.  The  inner  line  of  the  sidewalks  or  the  edge  next 
to  the  abutting  property  shall  be  ten  feet  outside  of  the  set- 
back building  line,  so  that  these  ten  feet  will  be  added  to  the 
space  in  front  of  the  houses. 

In  the  more  ambitious  developments,  such  as  Westmore- 
land Place  (PL  69),  buildings  must  be  kept  40  ft.  back  of  the 
street  lines  and  may  not  be  less  than  ten  feet  from  the  rear 
lot  line,  the  width  of  the  lots  on  this  "place"  being  about 
100  ft.  and  the  depth  200  ft.  measured  to  the  center  line  of  the 
rear  alley.  In  one  instance  there  was  originally  a  restriction 
against  the  erection  of  any  dwelling  costing  less  than  $6000, 
which  has  proved  to  be  an  entirely  unnecessary  provision,  as 
none  have  been  built  at  a  cost  of  less  than  $20,000,  and  it  is 
said  that  the  most  of  them  were  far  more  expensive.  An 
annual  assessment  of  not  more  than  50  cents  per  front  foot  is 
imposed  upon  all  of  the  lot  owners  to  meet  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance and  care  of  the  trees,  shrubs,  etc.  Conspicuous  features 
of  the  St.  Louis  places  are  their  ornamental  entrances,  several 
of  which  are  shown  in  the  illustrations.  It  is  unfortunate 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  city  as  a  whole  that  these  places 
frequently  have  no  direct  relation  to  the  surrounding  street 
system.  If  they  were  the  continuations  of  city  streets,  the 
entrances  would  add  an  attractive  feature  to  the  streets  as  a 
whole ;  but  one  of  the  chief  purposes  had  in  mind  by  the  develop- 
ers appears  to  have  been  the  emphasis  placed  upon  them  as 
somewhat  secluded  colonies  of  home  owners;   and  while  the 


246  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

fact  that  they  have  been  placed  somewhat  off  the  regular  street 
system  is  probably  fortuitous  and  resulted  from  the  location 
of  the  property  available  for  the  development,  the  fact  that 
they  are  stumbled  upon  accidentally  adds  to  their  desirability 
for  the  particular  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed,  although 
the  city  at  large  may  be  the  loser. 


PLATE  64 


Examples  of  "flood"  lighting  of  public  buildings.    The  upper  view  is  the  public 
library  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  the  lower  is  the  City  Hall  in  Waterbury,  Conn.  (p.  240). 


PLATE  65 


C 


^  -5 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  RAILROAD   IN   ITS   RELATION   TO  THE   STREET 

SYSTEM 

'  I  ^HE  railroad  as  a  means  of  transportation  and  the  impor- 
-■-  tant  part  which  it  plays  in  the  development  and  growth  of 
a  city  is  generally  recognized.  Essential  as  it  is  to  the  pros- 
perity of  a  city,  it  presents  serious  physical  problems  and  often 
great  difficulties  in  the  development  of  a  convenient  and  adequate 
street  system.  The  railroad  considered  in  this  connection  is  not 
that  which  supplies  intra-urban  transit,  whether  upon,  under  or 
over  the  city  streets,  but  the  lines  which  connect  the  city  with  the 
rest  of  the  world,  which  accommodate  long-distance  travel  and 
which  supply  the  needs  of  the  community  and  distribute  its 
manufactured  products.  The  different  railway  lines  entering 
a  city  cannot  be  permitted  to  divide  it  into  sections  which  are 
isolated,  the  one  from  the  other.  The  streets  cannot  be  abruptly 
stopped  at  the  railroad  tracks,  but  must  be  carried  across  them, 
even  though  to  do  so  involves  danger  or  large  expense.  When 
towns  or  districts  of  an  existing  town  are  being  rapidly  developed 
into  important  manufacturing,  commercial  or  distributing 
centers  the  railroads  are  eagerly  welcomed,  the  more  of  them 
the  better,  in  the  belief  that  competition  will  reduce  transporta- 
tion rates.  They  are  not  only  allowed  to  locate  their  terminals 
wherever  they  can  secure  the  cheapest  property  for  the  purpose, 
but  they  are  permitted  to  reach  these  terminals  by  such  routes  as 
they  please  without  regard  to  their  track  location  with  respect 
to  other  tracks  which  they  may  cross  at  grade,  if  the  State  laws 
permit,  and  the  result  is  often  such  a  condition  as  has  grown  up 
in  Chicago  (Fig.  5,  p.  69),  though  usually  on  a  much  smaller 
scale.     Occasionally  the  railroads  are  allowed  to  occupy  the 

247 


248  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

surface  of  existing  streets,  as  in  Syracuse;  but  even  if  on  their 
own  rights  of  way,  they  are  very  Ukely  to  have  been  carried 
across  existing  streets  at  grade,  although  in  most  states  this  is 
no  longer  permitted.  Many  of  the  states  have  enacted  laws 
requiring  new  lines  to  be  carried  either  over  or  under  all  streets 
which  are  in  use,  but  rarely  is  any  effort  made  so  to  locate  the 
tracks,  either  with  respect  to  lines  or  grades,  as  to  provide  for 
carrying  streets  which  may  be  mapped  but  not  yet  built  over 
or  under  the  tracks  at  a  minimum  of  expense  and  disturbance 
of  the  street  plan.  Railroads  built  through  thinly  settled  dis- 
tricts which  produce  little  business  for  them  are  obliged  to  keep 
their  original  construction  cost  down  to  the  lowest  possible 
figure  and  to  provide  for  betterments  from  their  future  earn- 
ings, and  this  policy  is  often  followed  even  with  respect  to  the 
portions  of  their  lines  entering  or  passing  through  urban  districts. 
This  is  all  very  reasonable  from  the  railroad  point  of  view,  but 
it  may  be  disastrous  in  its  effect  upon  the  city  plan.  In  the 
densely  populated  countries  of  Europe,  where  the  railway  lines 
are  relatively  short  and  a  larger  capital  expenditure  for  initial 
construction  is  justified,  grade  crossings  are  rarely  permitted 
in  either  urban  or  rural  districts,  but  the  entire  railroad  right 
of  way  is  enclosed,  so  that  access  to  the  tracks  is  difficult  or 
must  be  so  deliberate  as  to  be  in  the  nature  of  trespass.  There 
are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  however,  as  in  the  city  of  Lincoln, 
England,  where  the  principal  street  of  the  town  crosses  the 
railroad  at  grade  in  the  real  American  fashion.  As  the  city 
grows  and  its  street  traffic  increases  the  dangers  and  delays 
incident  to  grade  crossings  of  the  railroads  become  intolerable 
and  their  elimination  becomes  necessary.  The  cost  of  this 
work  is  so  great  that  many  large  cities  put  up  with  the  incon- 
venience until  the  annual  loss  of  life  is  so  great  that  action  can 
no  longer  be  deferred. 

At  Pullman,  for  instance,  two  trunk-line  railways  cross  a 
street  at  grade  about  half  a  block  from  the  main  entrance  to 
the  Pullman  works.  Between  two  and  three  hundred  trains  a 
day,  including  the  suburban  service,  pass  over  these  tracks^ 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    249 


two  of  them  being  through  trains  running  at  full  speed  across 
the  street  within  a  few  minutes  of  5:30  in  the  afternoon, 
which  is  the  quitting  time  for  9,000  employees.  It  is  said  that 
in  22  months  41  fatal  accidents  occurred  on  these  and  other 
crossings  in  the  vicinity  and,  when  the  public  realized  the 
extent  of  the  slaughter  which  was  going  on,  an  agitation  was 
begun  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  an  ordinance  requiring 
the  elevation  of  the  tracks  before  the  close  of  the  year  1916. 

A  branch  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad  within  the  limits  of 
New  York  City  passes  immediately  alongside  of  several  in- 
dustrial plants  employing  a  large  number  of  men  and  women. 
The  tracks  are  not  fenced  in  and  they  cross  the  streets  in  the 
vicinity  at  grade,  and  the  operatives  at  these  plants  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  following  the  railroad  right  of  way  as  a  short- 
cut to  the  nearest  street  which  will  take  them  to  and  from  their 
work.  For  several  years  there  has  been  an  average  of  eight  fatal 
accidents  a  year  at  this  place,  or  about  one  every  six  weeks 
Proceedings  were  commenced  to  eliminate  all  grade  crossings 
on  this  portion  of  the  railroad  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent 
access  to  the  railroad  right  of  way;  but  inasmuch  as  the 
raising  of  the  streets  would  necessitate  the  construction  of  a 
new  bridge  across  an  important  navigable  waterway  alongside 
of  the  railroad,  and  as  the  city  had  not  provided  the  funds 
required  for  this  new  bridge,  and  as  any  substantial  change  in 
the  railroad  grade  was  impracticable,  no  steps  have  yet  been 
taken  toward  the  elimination  of  the  crossings. 

The  work  of  grade  separation  is  often  delayed  until  such 
conditions  exist  and  then  either  the  railroad  is  compelled 
by  the  exercise  of  the  police  power  of  the  state  to  elevate  or 
depress  its  tracks  or  the  work  is  undertaken  and  the  cost  is 
divided  between  the  railroad  company  and  the  city,  while 
in  many  cases  the  state  pays  a  portion  of  the  expense.  The 
laws  governing  the  distribution  of  the  cost  of  this  work  vary 
greatly,  and  the  determination  as  to  how  it  is  to  be  divided  is 
considered  to  be  a  function  of  the  state  and  not  of  the  munici- 
pality.    In  New  York  State  a  newly  constructed  railroad  is 


250  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

required  to  carry  its  tracks  either  over  or  under  all  existing 
roads  or  streets  at  its  own  expense,  nor  is  it  permitted  to  cross 
another  railroad  at  grade.  In  the  case  of  new  streets  which 
may  be  carried  across  an  existing  railroad  the  expense  is 
divided  equally  between  the  railroad  and  the  city,  town  or 
county.  Where  an  existing  grade  crossing  is  to  be  eliminated 
one  half  of  the  expense  is  imposed  upon  the  railroad  company, 
one  quarter  upon  the  municipality  or  county  and  one  quarter 
is  assumed  by  the  state  in  view  of  the  need  of  the  work  as 
essential  to  public  safety,  which  is  of  state-wide  concern.  In 
all  cases  the  manner  of  the  crossing  must  be  determined  by 
the  Public  Service  Commission,  and  plans  for  the  work  and 
contracts  for  its  execution  must  be  first  submitted  to  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Commission,  to  which  body  must  also  be  sub- 
mitted, upon  the  completion  of  the  work,  full  information  as  to 
all  items  entering  into  the  cost,  which  cost  is  then  apportioned 
by  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
statute. 

Some  of  the  states  have  not  enacted  laws  governing  the 
distribution  of  the  expense  of  grade  crossing  elimination. 
Others  have  created  boards  or  commissions  with  power  to 
order  the  elimination  of  dangerous  crossings  and  apportion 
the  expense,  but  in  several  of  these  no  action  has  yet  been 
taken,  this  probably  being  due  to  the  fact  that  in  these  states 
it  is  the  railroad  company  that  is  expected  to  take  the  initiative 
and  not  the  state,  city  or  town.  The  provisions  of  some  of 
the  state  laws  will  be  briefly  discussed,  most  of  the  information 
being  taken  from  a  synopsis  prepared  for  the  Committee  on 
Grade  Crossings  of  the  National  Association  of  Railway 
Commissioners  by  Mr.  James  B.  Walker,  Secretary  to  the 
Public  Service  Commission  for  the  First  District  of  New 
York. 

In  Connecticut  laws  enacted  as  early  as  1876  required 
each  railway  company  to  remove  at  its  own  expense  one  grade 
crossing  each  year  for  every  50  miles  of  road  owned  or  oper- 
ated.    When,   in   addition   to   this,    a   railway  petitions   the 


PLATE  66 


Showing  the  effect  of  placing  trees  on  the  street  line  instead  of  along  the 
curb.  The  upper  view  shows  the  introduction  of  a  parkway  with  planting  in  a 
street  80  ft.  wide,  all  buildings  being  placed  20  ft.  back  of  the  building  line.  In 
the  lower  view  the  lots  on  the  right  are  exceptionally  deep  and  an  irregular  park- 
ing space  has  been  introduced  in  the  roadway,  the  buildings  being  set  back  1 5  ft. 
(p.  242). 


PLATE  67 


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View  showing  the  character  of  the  development  at  Forest  Hilh  Gardens, 
New  York.  (See  aho  Fig.  59  and  PI.  86.)  Reproduced  from  photographs 
kindly  furnished  by  the  Sag3  Foundation  Homes  Co.  (pp.  244  and  312). 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    251 

State  Railroad  Commission  for  the  abolition  of  a  grade  cross- 
ing the  company  pays  the  entire  expense.  If  the  petition  is 
made  by  the  town  or  city  the  State  Railway  Commission  may 
order  the  railway  company  to  pay  75  per  cent  of  the  expense 
and  the  town  or  city  the  other  25  per  cent  if  the  highway 
existed  when  the  railway  was  built;  but  if  subsequently  laid 
out  and  constructed  the  cost  is  divided  equally.  If  the 
Railroad  Commissioners  order  a  change  without  petition  the 
railways  pay  75  per  cent  of  the  cost  and  the  state  the  other 
25  per  cent. 

Illinois  gives  its  Public  Utilities  Commission  broad  powers 
to  apportion  the  expense  of  abolishing  existing  grade  crossings 
between  the  railroad  company,  the  state,  the  county  or  the  town. 

In  Indiana  the  Public  Service  Commission  may  order 
railroads  to  abolish  grade  crossings,  the  cost  of  the  work  to  be 
paid,  three  quarters  by  the  company  and  one  quarter  by  the 
county.  Only  one  order  for  a  grade  separation  can  be  made 
in  one  year  in  each  county. 

In  Iowa,  cities  of  over  7000  population  may  require  any 
railway  to  build  one  viaduct  across  any  public  street  in  any 
one  year,  the  entire  cost  of  the  work  to  be  borne  by  the  rail- 
road company,  but  the  city  is  to  pay  all  damages  which  may 
result  from  the  separation  of  grades. 

In  Maine  the  State  Railroad  Commission,  upon  the  petition 
of  the  local  authorities,  may  order  railroad  and  street  grades 
to  be  separated,  and  the  cost  is  borne,  25  per  cent  by  the 
state,  ID  per  cent  by  the  town  and  65  per  cent  by  the  rail- 
road company,  with  the  provision  that  the  state's  share  of 
all  such  work  must  be  limited  to  $15,000  in  any  one  year. 

Massachusetts  has  a  general  grade  crossing  law,  under 
which  each  case  is  considered  by  a  special  commission  appointed 
by  the  Supreme  Court.  Sixty-five  per  cent  of  the  cost  is  paid 
by  the  railroad,  not  more  than  15  per  cent  by  a  street 
surface  railroad,  and  the  remainder  is  divided  between  the 
state  and  municipality,  the  share  of  the  latter  being  limited 
to  ten  per  cent. 


252  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

In  Michigan  a  considerable  amount  of  grade  crossing 
elimination  has  been  carried  out.  None  of  the  cost  appears 
to  have  been  paid  by  the  state,  but  machinery  is  provided 
whereby  cities  may  join  with  the  railways  in  the  improvements. 

In  Minnesota  the  matter  is  left  to  the  cities  themselves, 
and  naturally  the  distribution  of  the  cost  varies  in  different 
communities.  The  railway  usually  builds  the  necessary 
bridge  structures  and  sometimes  the  approaches  also,  while 
in  some  cases  the  railroad  company  has  also  paid  for  damages 
to  property. 

In  New  Hampshire,  if  the  Public  Service  Commission  re- 
fuses to  consent  to  new  grade  crossings,  at  least  one  half  of 
the  expense  of  constructing  over  or  under  crossings  is  paid 
by  the  railroad  company,  although  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
cost  may  be  imposed  upon  the  company  if  the  Commission  so 
determines.  Existing  crossings  may  be  ordered  abolished 
at  the  sole  expense  of  the  railroad  company. 

In  New  Jersey  the  Commission  may  order  grade  crossings 
to  be  abolished  at  the  sole  expense  of  the  railroad  company, 
except  that  if  a  street  or  road  is  occupied  by  surface  railway 
tracks  the  company  owning  such  tracks  shall  contribute  ten 
per  cent  of  the  cost. 

In  Ohio  the  law  empowers  the  municipalities  to  require 
the  raising  or  lowering  of  tracks,  and  forbids  the  creation 
of  future  grade  crossings,  except  by  permission  of  the  court. 
Under  an  earlier  law  65  per  cent  of  the  cost  was  paid  by  the 
railroad  company  and  35  per  cent  by  the  city  or  county, 
with  a  provision  that  one  half  of  the  city's  share  might  be 
assessed  against  any  street  railway  company  using  the  street 
which  was  carried  over  or  under  the  railroad. 

In  Pennsylvania  the  Public  Service  Commission  is  given 
entire  control  over  grade  crossing  elimination,  and  the  railroad 
companies  are  required  to  pay  such  proportion  of  the  expense 
of  the  work  as  the  Commission  may  determine. 

In  Rhode  Island  there  have  been  special  acts  covering 
specific  crossings.     The  Commission  may  order  grades  sepa- 


PLATE  68 


Entrances  to  a  suburban  development   on  the  outskirts  of   San  Francisco. 
(See  Fig.  60  and  p.  244.) 


PLATE  69 


Entrances  to  the  St.  Louis  "places."  Upper,  Westmoreland  plan;  lower, 
Lenox  plan.  These  and  the  views  on  PI.  70  are  reproduced  from  photographs 
kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  John  Noyes,  St.  Louis  (p.  244). 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    253 

rated  if  it  seems  necessary,  and  the  expense  is  apportioned  by 
the  court.  In  Providence  the  railroad  companies  pay  two- 
thirds  of  the  cost  and  the  city  one-third. 

Vermont  has  a  law  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Con- 
necticut, requiring  each  railway  company  to  eliminate  one 
grade  crossing  each  year  for  every  80  miles  of  line.  In  the 
case  of  additional  crossings  the  town  pays  not  more  than 
ten  per  cent,  the  state  not  more  than  25  per  cent,  and  the 
railroad  company  the  balance,  as  apportioned  by  the  Com- 
mission. 

The  above  does  not  include  all  states  which  have  passed 
laws  dealing  with  this  subject,  but  the  cases  given  are  typical. 
The  most  comprehensive  grade  crossing  elimination  work  has 
been  undertaken  by  cities  under  special  statutes.  Buffalo 
has  done  a  great  deal  of  work  through  a  special  commission 
and,  while  the  distribution  of  cost  has  varied  somewhat,  the 
general  policy  laid  down  by  the  commission  is  that  all  expenses 
for  right  of  way  shall  be  paid  by  the  railroad  company,  that 
the  cost  of  other  land  needed  for  the  structures  and  the  cost 
of  the  bridges  shall  be  paid,  two-thirds  by  the  railroad  and  one- 
third  by  the  city,  while  the  damages  are  shared  equally. 
In  Chicago  many  millions  have  been  expended  by  the  railroad 
companies  in  the  elevation  of  their  tracks,  the  city's  contri- 
bution being  less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  total  cost,  this  repre- 
senting consequential  damages.  In  Detroit  the  railroad  com- 
panies pay  for  all  of  the  physical  work  and  the  city  the  dam- 
ages, which  amount  to  25  per  cent  or  more  of  the  total  expense. 
In  Philadephia  the  practice  has  varied  from  time  to  time,  the 
railway  formerly  paying  the  cost  of  construction  and  the  city 
assuming  the  damages,  while  under  special  agreements  the 
expense  has  in  some  cases  been  shared  equally;  in  others  the 
railroad  company  has  paid  one-third,  and  in  still  others  two- 
thirds  of  the  cost,  and  the  city  the  balance. 

The  work  of  grade  crossing  elimination  involves  such 
great  expense  that  it  can  seldom  be  carried  out  in  a  wholesale 
fashion,  but  must  be  undertaken  progressively.     It  is  a  mis- 


254  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

take,  however,  to  consider  each  crossing  or  even  a  group  of 
crossings  in  close  proximity  to  each  other  as  a  separate  prob- 
lem. As  in  all  other  city  planning,  a  comprehensive  scheme 
should  be  worked  out  in  advance,  even  though  it  may  be 
years  before  it  is  entirely  completed.  In  studying  one  small 
section  of  a  railroad  line  it  may  be  quite  evident  that  the  most 
economical  treatment  and  that  which  will  involve  the  least 
disturbance  of  existing  conditions  will  be  to  elevate  the  rail- 
road and  depress  the  streets  enough  to  carry  them  beneath  it. 
On  another  part  of  the  line,  where  the  conditions  have  become 
so  bad  that  the  grade  crossings  must  be  abolished,  the  easiest 
and  cheapest  plan  will  be  to  lower  the  railroad  grade  and  carry 
the  streets  over  it.  When  the  intervening  section  is  to  be 
treated  it  may  be  found  that  to  pass  from  a  railroad  on  embank- 
ment to  a  railroad  in  cut  will  render  it  very  difficult  and  expen- 
sive, or  even  impossible,  to  carry  some  important  intervening 
streets  across  the  tracks  in  any  way.  Had  the  entire  length 
of  the  railroad  in  its  relation  to  the  street  grades  been  studied 
in  advance,  the  treatment  of  one  of  the  limited  sections  might 
have  been  so  modified  as  to  give  the  best  results  along  the 
entire  line.  Before  the  plans  for  any  of  the  crossings  are 
determined  a  decision  should  be  reached  as  to  the  manner  of 
treating  every  other  crossing  of  the  entire  line  of  every  railroad 
entering  the  city.  The  work  may  be  carried  out  step  by  step, 
but  each  step  should  be  in  accordance  with  a  consistent  and 
comprehensive  plan. 

The  clearance  which  it  is  possible  to  secure  will  vary  con- 
siderably. Railroad  companies  desire  and  actually  require  a 
minimum  of  i6  ft.,  and  for  freight  lines,  more  particularly  at 
the  entrance  to  yards,  they  prefer  about  22  ft.  in  order  that 
trainmen  may  stand  on  the  tops  of  freight  cars  without  danger. 
Such  a  clearance  can  seldom  be  secured  in  populous  districts, 
and  in  some  places  standing  on  the  tops  of  cars  is  forbidden 
by  law  or  by  the  regulations  of  Public  Service  Commissions. 
Where  streets  pass  under  the  railroad  a  clearance  of  16  ft. 
is  desirable,  but  it  is  frequently  reduced  to  14  ft.,  and  in  some 


PLATE  70 


r 


Entrance  to  Hortense    place,   St.  Louis,  and    view  showing  the   set-back 
restrictions  and  double  rows  of  trees  between  curb  and  sidewalk  (p.  244). 


PLATE  71 


'^9iFq^^ 


'■^^/^ 


^       ,v 


O 


P^ 


o 
a 


n 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    ^55 

special  cases  to  12  ft.;  but  this  should  be  avoided  wherever 
possible.  In  New  York  the  general  practice  is  to  require  all 
railroad  bridges  75  ft.  or  less  in  length  between  abutments 
to  span  the  streets  without  intermediate  supports;  but  where 
the  length  is  greater  intermediate  columns  on  the  sidewalk 
just  back  of  the  curb  are  permitted  and,  in  exceptional  cases, 
where  the  street  is  unusually  wide  or  the  skew  is  so  great  as 
to  require  a  long  span,  columns  are  permitted  in  the  middle  of 
the  roadway. 

Having  settled  upon  the  nature  of  the  crossings  and  the 
clearance  required  in  each  case,  the  next  thing  to  be  determined 
is  how  much  each  grade  line  is  to  give  way  to  the  other;  that 
is,  whether,  in  the  case  of  an  under-crossing,  the  street  shall 
be  lowered  to  such  an  extent  as  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the 
height  of  the  railroad  embankment  or  whether  the  railroad 
shall  be  so  raised  as  to  avoid  the  need  of  any  great  departure 
from  street  grades  or,  in  the  case  of  an  over-crossing,  whether 
the  street  shall  be  carried  over  the  railroad  with  little  change 
in  the  latter,  whether  the  railroad  shall  be  depressed  sufficiently 
to  permit  the  street  to  pass  over  it  with  little  disturbance  of 
its  natural  grade,  or  whether  the  one  shall  be  lowered  and  the 
other  raised  about  equally.  The  solution  of  these  questions 
will  frequently  be  governed  by  the  need  of  providing  for  the 
drainage  and  sewerage  of  the  territory,  a  substantial  depression 
of  either  street  or  railroad  being  likely  to  interfere  seriously 
with  adequate  provision  for  drainage.  Owners  of  property 
in  the  vicinity  naturally  prefer  to  have  the  railroad  placed  out 
of  sight,  and  its  complete  depression  is  generally  urged.  Such 
treatment  is  more  expensive,  especially  if  it  involves  the  lower- 
ing of  tracks  which  are  in  use,  and  it  seriously  interferes  with 
the  provision  of  industrial  spurs  and  sidings.  If  the  railroad 
is  slightly  lowered,  the  street  grades  must  be  substantially 
changed  in  order  to  carry  them  over,  and  this  involves  either 
steep  grades  or  long  ramps,  resulting  in  damages  to  abutting 
property  which  will  be  left  below  grade,  the  raising  of  a  street 
above  the  natural  surface  always  resulting  in  much  greater 


^56  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

damage  than  does  its  depression  below  the  surface.  If  the 
railroad  is  to  be  raised  every  additional  foot  of  elevation  is 
opposed  on  account  of  the  barrier  which  a  high  embankment 
will  place  between  the  districts  on  the  two  sides  of  the  tracks. 
There  is,  however,  a  great  advantage  in  permitting  the  streets 
to  remain  as  close  as  possible  to  their  natural  grade  rather 
than  to  permit  the  introduction  of  depressions  which  it  will  be 
difficult  to  drain  and  which  will  obstruct  the  view  of  vehicles 
approaching  from  the  opposite  direction.  Considerations  of 
cost  will  be  likely  to  control  the  decision,  the  state,  the  city, 
and  the  railroad  company  all  sharing  the  expense  in  most 
instances.  The  preservation  of  the  traffic  value  of  the  street 
and  the  avoidance  of  interference  with  the  drainage  system 
should  in  all  cases  be  given  careful  consideration. 

These  details  being  settled,  the  next  question  is  the  char- 
acter of  the  structures  to  be  erected.  Where  the  bridge  carries 
the  highway  over  the  tracks  little  besides  its  roadway,  side- 
walks and  protecting  railing  will  be  seen,  and  the  chief  consider- 
ation will  be  its  adequate  capacity  and  its  safety;  but  where 
the  railroad  passes  over  the  street  its  appearance  is  of  the 
greatest  importance.  The  railroad  is  a  utility  upon  which 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  town  depend  and  its  practical 
purpose  can  be  frankly  recognized  and  expressed  in  the  struc- 
ture which  will  carry  it  across  the  public  highway.  To  try 
and  make  a  railroad  bridge  look  like  a  triumphal  arch  is 
absurd.  On  the  other  hand,  the  erection  of  a  few  steel  columns 
and  girders  with  wooden  cross-ties  separated  by  open  spaces — 
in  other  words,  a  structure  which  will  simply  get  the  tracks 
across  the  street  and  permit  traffic  to  pass  under  them — should 
not  be  tolerated.  This  is  quite  generally  recognized  now, 
and  an  effort  is  usually  made  to  erect  bridges  which  will  be 
attractive  in  appearance,  an  object  which  can  more  easily  be 
attained  than  was  formerly  possible  and  within  reasonable 
limits  of  cost,  owing  to  the  recent  advances  in  the  art  of  rein- 
forced concrete  construction.  Excellent  examples  of  such 
bridges  are  to  be  found  in  nearly  all  cities,  several  illustrations 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    257 

being  given.  One  of  the  notably  successful  structures  of  this 
kind  is  shown  (PI.  75),  where  the  treatment  of  the  adjoin- 
ing station  platforms  has  been  especially  successful  and  adds 
greatly  to  the  pleasing  effect  of  the  bridge.  This  was  built 
in  connection  with  an  extensive  scheme  of  grade  crossing 
elimination  which  included  another  simple  but  attractive 
bridge  (PI.  76).  An  example  of  a  simple  bridge  constructed 
in  a  suburban  district  to  do  away  with  a  dangerous  crossing 
between  two  curves  in  the  road  is  illustrated  by  the  views  on 
PI.  77.  Philadelphia  has  done  a  great  deal  of  grade  cross- 
ing elimination,  in  connection  with  which  the  treatment  of  the 
concrete  surfaces  of  the  bridges,  piers  and  abutments  to  give 
them  a  good  appearance  has  been  especially  successful,  an 
example  of  the  work  in  that  city  being  given  (PI.  74). 

A  difficult  and  interesting  problem  was  presented  in  the 
case  of  three  bridges  over  Queens  Boulevard,  in  New  York, 
all  being  within  a  distance  of  2700  ft.  '  The  relative  position 
of  these  crossings  and  the  angles  at  which  the  railroad  lines 
cross  the  street  are  shown  by  the  accompanying  diagram  (Fig. 
54).  It  was  necessary  that  the  two  outside  bridges,  one 
carrying  six  tracks  and  the  other  two,  should  be  placed  at  as 
low  an  elevation  as  possible  and  leave  sufficient  clearance  for 
the  street,  while  the  intermediate  bridge,  carrying  a  railroad 
that  crosses  over  the  other  two,  had  to  be  much  higher.  The 
railroad  companies  were  advised  to  secure  the  services  of  an 
architect  who  should  collaborate  with  their  engineers  in  work- 
ing out  the  plans  of  these  three  bridges  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  would  bear  a  proper  relation  to  each  other,  and  Mr. 
Arnold  W.  Brunner,  of  New  York,  was  retained  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  manner  in  which  the  problem  has  been  solved 
is  indicated  by  the  illustrations  (PI.  78).  The  six-track 
bridge  has  been  constructed  and  is  in  use,  but,  as  the  street 
which  it  crosses  has  not  been  improved  for  its  full  width, 
the  architect's  sketches  have  been  used  for  the  illustra- 
tions instead  of  a  photograph  of  the  structure  actually  built. 
As  the  boulevard  crossed  by  these  bridges   is  to  be  divided 


258 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


into  three  roadways,  separated  by  parking  strips  30  ft. 
in  width,  these  latter  spaces,  in  the  case  of  the  low-level 
bridges,  are  used  for  substantial  piers,  which  are  actually 
buildings  to  be  devoted  to  the  storage  of  supplies  and  tools 
used  by  the  forces  employed  in  street  cleaning  and  repair 
work,  thus  reducing  the  bridge  spans  and  avoiding  placing 


Fig.  54. — Plan  showing  the  location  of  three  railroad  bridges  across  a  boule- 
vard 200  ft.  wide  within  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile  and  all  at  different 
angles. 


too  much  emphasis  upon  the  somewhat  scant  clearance  over 
the  surface  of  the  roadways.  In  the  case  of  the  higher  bridge 
arches  are  to  be  used,  the  piers  being  placed  in  the  park- 
ing spaces.  All  of  these  designs  recognize  the  practical  pur- 
pose of  the  bridges  and  do  not  attempt  to  make  them  appear 
other  than  what  they  are — the  means  of  carrying  railroads 
across  a  highway;  but  this  has  been  done  with  as  little  dis- 
figurement of  the  boulevard  as  possible. 


PLATE  72 


A  street  in  Redlands,  Cal.,  lined  with  pepper  trees  which  in  the  fall  are  filled 
with  clusters  of  brilliant  red  berries. 


Roses  in  a  street   in  Portland,  Ore.,  showing   the  profusion  of   flowers  to  be 
found  in  many  of  the  cities  of  the  Pacific  coast. 


PLATE  73 


The  Stockton  Street  Tunnel,  San  Francisco,  showing  the  manner  in  which 
some  of  the  excessive  grades  are  overcome.  These  grades  resulted  from  the 
adoption  of  a  rectangular  plan  without  regard  to  topography.  Reproduced 
from  photograph  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  M.  M.  O'Shaughnessey,  City  Engineer. 


The  Railroad  in  its  Relation  to  the  Street  System    259 

Many  other  examples  might  be  given  of  the  way  in  which 
this  problem  of  carrying  highways  over  or  under  railroads 
has  been  solved,  but  the  purpose  of  this  brief  chapter  is  simply 
to  emphasize  its  importance  as  a  part  of  the  general  city  plan 
and  to  urge  that  it  be  approached  as  a  thoroughly  practical 
one.  To  disguise  the  railroad  bridge  in  an  effort  to  make  it 
look  like  something  other  than  the  useful  and  necessary  thing 
it  really  is  will  render  it  ridiculous,  which  is  as  undesirable  as 
the  unmitigated  ugliness  which  has  often  characterized  such 
structures  where  no  intelligent  control  has  been  exercised  by 
the  public  authorities  and  the  railroad  companies  have  ap- 
peared not  to  care  how  they  look. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
RESTRICTIONS 

^T^HIS  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the 
■  -''  various  measures  which  are  designed  to  insure  to  the 
citizens  at  large  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the  advantages 
which  a  well-organized  city  should  supply  and  to  prevent  such 
acts  of  the  individual  or  such  use  of  private  property  as  will 
in  any  way  militate  against  such  enjoyment.  Among  these 
advantages,  besides  the  free  and  safe  use  of  the  public  streets, 
the  right  to  which  is  universally  admitted,  there  may  be  in- 
cluded freedom  from  obstruction  of  light  and  air  by  a  neigh- 
boring owner;  prevention  of  the  appropriation  of  public  prop- 
erty to  private  use;  a  guarantee  of  the  preservation  of  the 
character  of  a  district  when  once  established  by  protecting 
it  against  invasion  by  industries,  uses  and  occupations  incon- 
sistent with  that  character;  the  conservation  of  the  value  of 
private  property  by  an  orderly  scheme  of  development  and 
improvement;  the  prohibition  of  the  erection  of  structures, 
either  permanent  or  temporary,  which  will  offend  the  eye;  the 
provision  of  facilities  for  sane  and  wholesome  amusement  and 
recreation;  the  prevention  of  offensive  odors  or  harsh  and 
unnecessary  noises,  or  of  anything  destructive  of  what  the 
English  so  well  and  so  frequently  express  by  the  word  "  amen- 
ity." In  European  cities  these  rights  of  the  public  are  now 
taken  for  granted,  and  the  rights  of  the  individual  citizen  and 
property  owner  must  be  subordinated  to  them.  As  already 
stated  in  these  pages,  the  citizen  is  simply  a  small  unit  in  what 
goes  to  make  up  a  city,  and  whatever  he  does  must  be  con- 
sidered in  its  relation  to  and  its  effect  upon  the  body  of  citizens 
whose   interests,    comfort   and   convenience   are   paramount. 

260 


PLATE  74 


The  bronze  base  of  one  of  the  flag  staffs  in  front  of  the  New  York  Public 
Library.  Reproduced  from  photograph  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hastings 
of  Carrere  &  Hastings,  architects  of  the  building. 


One  of  the  more  ornamental  bridges  recently  erected  in  Philadelphia  in 
connection  with  grade-crossing  eliminations.  From  a  photograph  kindly  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Geo.  S.  Webster,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Surveys  (p.  257). 


PLATE  75 


A  grade-crossing  elimination  where  the  railroad  was  raised  and  the  street 
lowered.  The  treatment  of  the  station  and  its  approaches  is  very  satisfactory. 
This  and  the  views  on  Pis.  76  and  77  are  from  photographs  furnished  by  the  New 
York  Public  Service  Commission  (p.  257). 


Restrictions  261 


American,  and  to  a  great  extent  British,  cities  have  been  slow 
in  asserting  themselves  and  do  not  appear  to  realize  their 
rights  as  against  the  citizen.  There  is  a  traditional  feeling 
among  the  English-speaking  people,  due,  perhaps,  to  many  of 
the  provisions  of  the  English  common  law,  that  there  is  a 
certain  sanctity  and  inviolability  inherent  in  private  property, 
and  that  its  owner  must  be  carefully  protected  against  any  act 
which  may  in  the  slightest  degree  curtail  the  fullest  enjoyment 
of  it  or  any  profit  which  may  be  derived  from  its  use,  provided 
such  use  may  be  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  even  though  pre- 
judicial to  the  comfort,  convenience  and  enjoyment  of  others. 
The  idea  underlying  this  feeling  is  that  the  individual  unit 
going  to  make  up  the  city  must  be  carefully  protected  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  If  the  individual  is  rich 
and  powerful,  he  may  take  advantage  of  this  protection  for 
his  own  aggrandizement  and  to  the  serious  detriment  of  those 
who  are  less  fortunate.  But  it  is  better — so  those  who  are 
passionately  devoted  to  the  sanctity  of  the  rights  of  private 
property  believe — that  an  injustice  should  be  done  to  the 
general  public  than  that  the  vested  rights  of  real  property 
should  be  violated.  Just  how  private  real  property  acquired 
these  rights  does  not  appear — whether  through  an  omnipotent 
power  which  orders  human  affairs  or  whether  by  successive 
steps  of  aggression  on  the  part  of  the  land  owning  class.  The 
right  to  use  individual  property  in  whatever  manner  seems 
best  to  the  owner  has  become  a  well-established  principle;  to 
overturn  it  or  even  to  question  it  would,  in  their  opinion,  be 
subversive  of  public  order  and  well-established  legal  procedure. 
The  word  restrictions  as  applied  to  the  regulations  govern- 
ing the  use  of  private  property  is  likely  to  be  understood  in 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  although  in  Continental 
Europe  it  is  so  generally  recognized  that  the  individual  has 
no  right  to  use  his  property  without  regard  to  the  interest  of 
his  neighbor  or  of  the  general  public  that  the  prohibition  of 
such  use  would  scarcely  be  regarded  as  a  restriction.  It  implies 
public  control  of  the  use  of  such  property  in  the  interest  of  the 


262  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

public  at  large,  although  the  right  of  the  public  to  such  control 
and  for  its  benefit  and  protection  may  not  yet  be  generally 
conceded.  In  many  American  cities  there  has  been  a  disposi- 
tion to  make  use  of  portions  of  the  public  streets  for  private 
purposes.  The  exposure  of  goods  for  sale  on  the  sidewalks  in 
front  of  shops,  the  loading  and  unloading  of  bulky  packages 
and  barrels  by  means  of  skids  extending  across  the  sidewalks, 
with  complete  interruption  of  their  intended  use,  the  erection  of 
permanent  platforms  on  parts  of  the  sidewalks  in  front  of 
shops  and  warehouses  handling  heavy  materials,  the  erection 
of  storm-doors,  porches,  steps  to  floors  both  above  and  below 
the  street  level,  and  even  the  storage  of  trucks  and  machinery 
in  the  streets  at  night,  are  not  uncommon  sights  in  many  of 
our  cities,  whether  the  city's  title  to  these  streets  is  simply  a 
public  easement  for  street  purposes  or  whether  it  is  a  fee  abso- 
lute held  in  trust  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  whole  city. 
In  the  city  of  New  York  the  practice  of  encroaching  upon 
the  streets  by  steps,  porches,  show  windows,  entrances, 
and  even  by  supporting  columns  forming  an  integral  part  of 
building  structures,  had  become  so  common  that  the  abutting 
owners  came  to  consider  them  entirely  lawful,  and  efforts  to 
remove  them  were  resisted  as  an  invasion  of  their  fully  estab- 
lished rights,  even  though  this  city  owns  its  streets  in  fee  for 
their  full  width.  It  was  not  until  1910  that  the  first  serious 
attempt  was  made  to  correct  this  abuse.  The  first  street 
selected  for  the  enforcement  of  the  right  of  the  public  to  the 
free  use  of  the  entire  width  of  the  street  was  Fifth  avenue. 
This  avenue  had  been  laid  out  and  acquired  at  a  width  of  100 
ft.  The  roadway  was  40  ft.  in  width,  with  sidewalks  30  ft. 
wide  on  each  side,  but  half  of  the  sidewalk  space  had  for  many 
years  been  converted  to  private  use.  Many  costly  buildings 
had  been  erected  along  the  avenue  whose  entrances,  steps, 
bay  windows,  and  in  many  cases  supporting  columns  and  pil- 
asters extended  beyond  the  street  lines.  Fences  had  been 
erected  enclosing  one-half  of  the  sidewalk,  and  in  some  cases 
sunken  gardens  and  ornamental  planting  occupied  the  spaces 


Restrictions  263 


inside  of  these  fences  or  low  walls.  So  long  as  the  street  re- 
mained devoted  to  high-class  residences,  these  encroachments 
excited  little  comment  or  criticism;  but  when  the  stately  old 
homes  gave  way  to  business  buildings  and  the  vehicular  traffic 
greatly  increased,  the  roadway  of  40  ft.  became  inadequate, 
and  it  was  decided  that  it  should  be  increased  to  55  ft.  and  that 
all  of  the  building  encroachments  should  be  removed,  although, 
in  view  of  the  large  number  of  costly  and  handsome  buildings 
which  were  in  part  supported  by  construction  projecting  be- 
yond the  street  lines,  it  was  agreed  that  all  owners  who  should 
before  a  fixed  date  remodel  their  buildings  might  retain  such 
supporting  columns  or  steps  as  would  not  encroach  more  than 
2I  ft.,  leaving  in  such  cases  unobstructed  sidewalks  of  20  ft., 
or  five  ft.  more  than  formerly  existed.  The  entire  expense  of 
the  changes  was  to  be  borne  by  the  abutting  owners,  but  the 
city  was  to  bear  the  cost  of  the  widening  of  the  roadway.  In 
view  of  the  claims  which  had  been  made  as  to  the  right  of 
abutting  owners  through  long-established  custom  to  use  the 
streets  for  purposes  of  ingress  and  egress  and  for  the  ordinary 
appurtenances  of  a  building  other  than  the  parts  used  for  resi- 
dence or  gainful  occupation,  much  opposition  was  anticipated. 
There  was  considerable  opposition,  with  threats  of  legal 
procedure,  but  the  majority  of  the  owners  appeared  to  appre- 
ciate that  the  removal  of  the  obstructions  would  make  a  better 
street  and  that  their  property  would  be  more  valuable  without 
them.  The  work  was  carried  out,  and  these  expectations  were 
so  fully  realized  that  the  same  treatment  was  extended  north- 
wardly to  the  entrance  to  Central  Park  at  Fifty-ninth  street. 
In  the  second  or  upper  section  there  were  still  more  costly 
buildings  affected,  but  the  opposition  was  much  less,  and  when 
the  work  had  been  completed  it  was  difficult  to  find  any  owner 
of  property  within  the  limits  of  the  two  sections  who  would 
have  been  willing  to  go  back  to  the  old  conditions,  although 
the  aggregate  cost  of  the  changes  which  they  had  been  com- 
pelled to  make  was  probably  about  $2,000,000.  Since  then 
the  same  policy  has  been  adopted  with  respect  to  important 


264  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

business  streets,  not  only  the  wider  thoroughfares,  such  as 
portions  of  Broadway,  Sixth  avenue,  Fourteenth  street, 
Twenty-third  street  and  Forty-second  street,  but  to  the 
narrower  downtown  streets,  such  as  Nassau,  Wall,  Pine 
and  Cedar  streets,  and  the  approaches  to  the  ferries,  such 
as  Cortlandt,  Barclay  and  Chambers  streets  (PL  79).  In 
streets  of  the  latter  class  there  were  numerous  cases  where 
platforms  had  been  erected  in  front  of  wholesale  provision 
houses,  where  large  quantities  of  fruits  and  vegetables  and 
other  heavy  materials  were  loaded  and  unloaded  from  trucks, 
and  it  was  stated  that  the  removal  of  these  platforms  would 
cause  a  great  hardship  and  would  necessitate  an  entire  change 
in  the  conduct  of  business  of  this  kind.  The  ordinances  were 
adopted,  however,  and  the  obstructions  were  removed,  and 
there  was  such  a  change  of  feeling  on  this  question  that  in 
several  instances  the  municipal  authorities  were  requested  to 
extend  the  limits  covered  by  the  ordinances,  the  petitioners 
apparently  having  been  convinced  that  business  would  be 
improved  and  not  injured  by  the  removal  even  of  their  own 
encroachments  and  the  opening  up  of  the  streets  to  the  public 
use  for  which  they  were  designed.  So  generally  has  this  view 
been  accepted  that  the  title  insurance  companies  and  finan- 
cial institutions  which  loan  money  for  building  operations,  and 
who  were  formerly  inclined  to  be  insistent  upon  the  right  of  the 
abutting  owners  to  occupy  a  portion  of  the  sidewalk  in  front  of 
their  property,  now  refuse  to  insure  titles  or  loan  money  on 
buildings  having  such  encroachments. 

Obstructions  to  the  free  use  of  the  streets  are  not  confined 
to  American  and  British  cities.  They  are  are  also  to  be  found 
in  those  of  Continental  Europe,  sometimes  maintained  by 
private  owners  and  not  infrequently  by  the  city  itself,  although 
investigation  would  probably  show  that  some  of  these  have 
existed  for  generations  and  have  not  been  erected  in  violation 
of  public  rights  which  may  have  been  acquired  and  paid  for 
by  the  pubHc  (PI.  80). 

The  right  of  the  city  to  control  and  prevent  the  private 


Restrictions  265 


occupation  of  its  public  streets  is  so  obvious  that  it  can  scarcely 
be  questioned.  But  the  modern  idea  of  the  obligation  of  the 
city  to  its  citizens,  as  indicated  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this 
chapter,  is  much  more  comprehensive  and  extends  to  the 
use  which  may  be  made  of  the  property  outside  the  street 
lines  and  which  is  actually  owned  by  individuals.  In  the 
United  States  such  control  is  still  quite  likely  to  be  considered 
an  arbitrary  restriction  of  the  rights  of  owners  in  the  use  and 
development  of  their  property. 

The  most  common  regulations  of  this  kind  are  those  affect- 
ing the  height  and  arrangement  of  buildings.  They  may  have 
two  separate  and  distinct  purposes — either  to  improve  sanitary 
conditions  by  insuring  adequate  light  and  air  and  avoid 
damage  in  case  of  fire  or  accident,  or  to  add  to  the  dignity 
and  attractiveness  of  the  streets  by  avoiding  a  too  ragged  sky- 
line and  preventing  the  erection  of  buildings  of  excessive 
height  which  may  deprive  the  owners  of  adjacent  property  of 
their  due  share  of  light  and  air  and  render  impossible  the 
reasonable  and  proper  use  of  their  land.  While  the  propriety 
and  reasonableness  of  restrictions  to  insure  better  sanitation 
and  protection  from  injury  are  now  quite  generally  recognized, 
and  such  restrictions  are  believed  to  be  a  legitimate  exercise 
of  the  police  power, .  those  which  have  for  their  object  the 
mere  improvement  of  the  appearance  of  the  street  or  which 
are  based  upon  aesthetic  considerations  are  very  likely  to  be 
contested  in  the  English-speaking  countries.  On  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe  regulations  of  the  latter  class  are  accepted  as 
a  matter  of  course,  with  the  firm  conviction  that  anything 
which  affects  the  general  appearance  of  the  public  streets 
is  the  concern  of  the  entire  community,  whose  interest  is  para- 
mount to  that  of  any  individual,  while  in  some  other  countries 
regulations  having  for  their  purpose  the  improvement  of  the 
appearance  of  the  streets  are  still  likely  to  be  regarded  as  unduly 
restricting  the  inherent  right  of  the  individual  to  the  free  use 
of  his  property,  and  therefore  as  an  improper  use  of  the  police 
power.     Even  in  these  countries  there  is  a  growing  feeling 


266  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

that  private  rights  have  been  unduly  considered  and  must 
give  way  to  the  public  interest — that  is,  to  the  interest  of  all 
the  people.  In  large  cities  the  social  organization  is  so  complex 
and  the  life  of  the  individual  touches  thousands  of  others  at 
so  many  points  that  the  same  freedom  of  action  cannot 
be  permitted  which  is  unquestioned  in  a  rural  com- 
munity. 

The  regulations  most  obviously  necessary  are  those  govern- 
ing the  proportion  of  plots  which  may  be  built  upon  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  buildings  and  open  spaces,  as  these  are 
essential  to  good  sanitation  and  decent  living.  While  ordi- 
nances of  this  kind  vary  so  greatly  that  those  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  cities  cannot  be  compared  and  classified,  those  of  a  few 
typical  towns  will  be  briefly  stated.  The  greatest  number  of 
cities  for  which  such  regulations  have  been  adopted  are  in 
Germany,  and  they  are  there  found  to  be  more  complex  and 
varied  than  in  any  other  country.  They  are  applied  in  con- 
nection with  the  zoning  system  so  generally  adopted  by  Ger- 
man cities  and  which  was  first  advocated  by  Baumeister  in  the 
seventies,  but  was  not  actually  put  in  force  anywhere  until 
1884  in  Altona,  when  the  famous  Dr.  Franz  Adickes  was 
Mayor  of  that  city.  In  1891  Adickes,  who  had  become  the 
chief  executive  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  introduced  it  there, 
and  it  was  soon  taken  up  by  the  German  and  Scandinavian 
cities.^  The  older  or  inner  city  is  naturally  the  first  zone  where 
the  highest  buildings  are  allowed.  Building  in  solid  blocks 
is  also  permitted,  and  this  district  is  commonly  built  up  to  a 
fairly  uniform  height.  Outside  of  this  inner  city  there  are 
other  zones  in  which  the  allowable  height  of  buildings  pro- 
gressively diminishes,  although  there  may  be  residential, 
factory,  and  mixed  districts.  Manufacturing  districts  are  so 
located  as  to  afford  convenient  transportation  and  so  that  the 
prevailing  winds  will  blow  the  smoke  away  from  the  residential 

1  See  report  of  Mr.  F.  B.  Williams  on  "  The  German  Zone  Building  Regula- 
tions," made  to  the  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission  of  New  York  City  and  printed 
as  an  appendix  to  the  report  of  that  Commission  in  1913. 


Restrictions  267 

districts.  In  some  cases  residences  are  entirely  prohibited  in 
the  factory  districts. 

In  some  German  cities  the  effort  to  adapt  buildings  to 
special  conditions  has  resulted  in  a  great  number  of  small 
districts,  some  of  which  may  relate  to  a  single  street  or  to 
several  city  blocks.  The  permissible  height  and  the  area  of 
land  which  may  be  covered  is  naturally  greatest  in  the  central 
district  and  is  much  less  in  side  streets  and  in  the  suburbs. 
In  Munich  and  Karlsruhe  classes  of  streets  are  established 
with  different  regulations  for  each  street,  the  latter  city  hav- 
ing created  i6  classes  of  streets  by  ordinances  adopted  in 
191 2.  In  Germany,  as  in  America,  private  developers  of  real 
estate  have  not  infrequently  imposed  restrictions  more  severe 
than  those  prescribed  by  the  city  in  order  to  give  a  distinctive 
character  to  the  district.  While  such  restrictions  are  frequently 
adopted  in  the  interest  of  better  fire  protection  and  health, 
they  more  and  more  tend  to  promote  sightliness,  such  as  the 
provision  that  side  walls  visible  from  the  street  must  be  finished 
to  the  same  degree  as  the  front,  and  painting  in  garish  colors 
is  forbidden.  In  some  German  cities  no  permit  will  be  issued 
for  the  erection  of  a  building  on  any  street  which  is  classed  as 
unfinished  unless  the  plans  for  such  building  shall  first  have 
been  approved  by  some  public  officer.  This  power  is  frequently 
exercised  in  an  autocratic  fashion.  A  piece  of  curbing  may  be 
deliberately  left  out  on  a  certain  block  and  the  street  is  con- 
sequently called  unfinished.  If  the  design  of  a  building  which 
a  citizen  desires  to  erect  does  not  meet  with  the  approval  of 
the  officer  who  must  issue  the  permit,  he  can  say  that  the  street 
is  unfinished  and  that  the  permit  cannot  be  given.  If,  however, 
the  design  is  so  modified  as  to  meet  his  approval,  the  permit 
is  issued. 

In  Berlin  the  proportion  of  any  lot  which  may  be  built 
upon  depends  upon  the  area  of  the  lot  and  its  location.  For 
all  lots  up  to  32  meters  in  depth  the  regulations  are  similar 
for  all  portions  of  the  city  both  within  and  without  the  former 
walls,  while  for  lots  more  than  32  meters  in  depth  there  is  a 


268  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

difference  in  the  regulation  for  the  areas  within  and  without 
the  old  walls.  For  the  purpose  of  computing  the  portion  of 
the  lot  which  may  be  built  upon,  the  lot  is  divided  into  strips, 
or  zones,  the  first  of  which  extends  from  the  building  line  to 
a  depth  of  six  meters,  the  second  from  the  six-meter  line 
to  a  depth  of  32  meters  from  the  building  line.  On  the  first 
strip  the  entire  area  may  be  covered.  On  the  second  strip 
seven-tenths  of  the  area  may  be  covered,  while  if  the  lot  is 
deeper  than  32  meters,  six- tenths  of  the  area  back  of  the 
32-meter  line  may  be  built  upon  if  it  lies  inside  the  former 
city  walls  and  five-tenths  may  be  occupied  by  a  building  if 
without  the  old  walls.  In  computing  the  area  which  may  be 
occupied,  the  areas  upon  which  building  is  permitted  on  the 
different  strips  or  zones  above  described  are  added  together 
and  the  resulting  total  area  may  be  occupied  by  buildings, 
without  regard  to  the  proportion  of  the  area  occupied  on  any 
one  of  the  strips. 

In  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  the  proportion  of  the  lot  which 
must  be  left  free  depends  upon  the  district  in  which  it  is  lo- 
cated. In  the  central  district  one-fourth  of  interior  and 
one-sixth  of  corner  lots  must  be  left  open;  in  the  factory  zone, 
three-tenths;  in  the  dwelling  and  mixed  districts  of  the  inner 
zone,  four-tenths  of  interior  and  three-tenths  of  corner  lots; 
in  the  same  districts  of  the  outer  or  suburban  zones,  one-half 
of  interior  and  four-tenths  of  corner  lots,  and  in  the  country 
district,  seven-tenths  of  all  lot  areas. 

In  Munich  all  new  buildings  erected  in  the  portions  of  the 
city  which  are  built  up  in  solid  blocks  must  have  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  area  of  the  lot  left  free,  not  counting  light  shafts 
and  front  gardens.  An  unusual  provision  of  the  Munich 
building  regulations,  which  was  apparently  designed  to  pre- 
vent the  unnecessary  impairment  of  values,  applies  to  build- 
ings in  use  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  these  regulations  in 
1879,  and  which  were  erected  in  compliance  with  the  authorized 
practice  at  that  time  and  which  remain  suitable  for  habitation, 
and  where  the  street  or  neighborhood  has  undergone  no  radical 


PLATE  76 


A  grade-crossing  elimination   in   New   York   by  carrying   the  railroad 
the  street  on  a  simple  but  attractive  bridge  (p.  257). 


PLATE  77 


Showing  the  elimination  of  a  blind  grade  crossing  on  Staten  Island,  N.  Y., 
by  changing  the  position  of  the  highway  and  slightly  raising  the  grade  of  the 
railroad  (p.  257). 


Restrictions  269 


change.  Where  such  buildings  cover  less  than  three-fourths 
of  the  lot  area  they  may  be  extended  or  added  to  until  they 
cover  three-fourths  of  the  lot,  and  where  such  buildings  already 
cover  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  lot  they  may  be  extended 
or  added  to  until  only  one-fifth  of  the  lot  area  remains  free, 
not  counting  in  either  case  light  shafts  and  front  gardens 
in  such  uncovered  area,  and  provided,  further,  that  in  such 
additions  the  best  standards  as  to  construction,  fire  protection 
and  sanitation  are  followed.  In  the  case  of  detached  buildings 
the  area  remaining  unbuilt  upon  back  of  the  building  line  must 
be  one-third  of  the  lot  area  in  Classes  i,  2  and  3,  and  one-half 
in  Class  4,  for  interior  lots,  while  for  corner  lots  in  all  classes 
one-fifth,  or  in  exceptional  cases,  which  are  described  in 
detail,  one-sixth  of  the  lot  area  must  remain  free.  The  classes 
of  buildings  referred  to  are  those  fixed  by  permissible  heights. 
In  all  cases  the  maximum  depth  of  buildings  shall  be  22 
meters.  In  groups  of  buildings  treated  as  a  single  architec- 
tural unit,  the  length  may  not  exceed  45  meters  for  Classes 
I  and  2,  or  36  meters  for  Classes  3  and  4,  while  the  minimum 
distance  between  the  groups  shall  be  seven  meters  for  Class  i, 
nine  meters  for  Class  2  and  ten  meters  for  Classes  3  and  4. 

Hamburg  has  no  specific  regulations  governing  the  propor- 
tion of  the  lots  which  may  be  built  upon,  but  the  size  of  the 
open  space  is  determined  by  the  permissible  heights  of  the 
bordering  walls  of  living,  sleeping  and  working  rooms. 

In  Diisseldorf  there  are  five  zones  for  which  the  heights 
of  buildings  are  fixed,  but  in  each  zone  there  are  from  two  to 
five  classes,  for  each  of  which  the  proportion  of  the  lot  which 
may  be  built  upon  is  prescribed.  In  Zone  I  there  are  three 
classes:    A,  in  which   two-thirds  of  the  lot  may  be  covered; 

B,  in  which  one-half  may  be  used  if  there  are  rear  buildings; 

C,  in  which  three-fourths  of  the  area  may  be  covered  provided 
the  buildings  are  not  more  than  ten  meters,  or  two  stories  in 
height.  In  Zone  II  there  are  also  three  classes:  A,  where 
one-half  the  lot  may  be  used  for  buildings;  B,  where  four- 
tenths  may  be  so  used  if  there  are  rear  buildings.     C,  where 


270  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


six-tenths  of  the  lot  may  be  covered  with  one,  two,  three 
or  four-family  houses  or  houses  accommodating  more  than 
four  families,  but  with  not  more  than  two  apartments  on 
each  floor,  or  with  apartment  houses  having  not  more  than 
three  apartments  on  each  floor,  provided  the  buildings  are 
not  more  than  20  meters  in  depth.     Zone  III  has  two  classes: 

A,  in  which  four- tenths    of   the  lot   area  may  be   covered; 

B,  where  one-half  may  be  built  upon  under  the  same  condi- 
tions prescribed  for  Class  C  in  Zone  II.  In  Zone  IV  there  are 
five  classes,  of  which  A ,  B  and  C  apply  to  specific  streets  and 
parts  of  streets  and  which,  respectively,  restrict  the  area  which 
may  be  built  upon  to  three-fourths  of  the  lot  for  buildings  not 
over  eight  meters  high,  two-thirds  for  buildings  from  eight  to 
twelve  meters  high,  and  six- tenths  for  buildings  over  twelve 
meters  high;  D  relates  to  all  other  lots  in  the  zone  and  limits 
the  area  to  be  covered  to  four-tenths  of  the  lot,  except  that 
the  fifth  class,  E,  allows  one-half  of  the  lot  area  to  be  covered 
under  the  same  conditions  as  are  prescribed  for  Class  C  in  Zone 
II.  Zone  V  includes  three  classes:  A,  in  which  three-tenths 
of  the  lot  may  be  covered;  B,  in  which  four-tenths  may  be 
covered  by  front  buildings  only  having  a  depth  not  exceeding 
16  meters,  or  by  one  or  two-family  houses  or  apartment 
houses  having  not  more  than  two  apartments  on  each  floor 
and  a  depth  of  not  more  than  20  meters;  C,  in  which  small 
houses  may  cover  one-half  of  the  lot  area. 

In  Cologne,  buildings  are  divided  into  six  classes,  cover- 
ing houses  in  blocks  and  detached  houses  with  or  without 
basements  and  gardens,  while  the  interior  angles  of  corners 
are  a  factor  in  determining  the  usable  area.  Classes  1,  2  and 
3  relate  to  non-detached  buildings.  In  the  first  class,  contain- 
ing four  subdivisions,  25  per  cent  to  60  per  cent  of  the  interior 
lots  must  be  left  open.  In  the  second  class,  having  two  sub- 
divisions, from  50  per  cent  to  60  per  cent  of  interior  lots  must 
be  left  open.  In  these  two  classes  front  yards  or  gardens  up 
to  a  depth  of  six  meters  are  not  figured  in  computing  the 
open  spaces.     In   Class  3  interior  lots  containing  basement 


PLATE  78 


Railroad  bridges  across  Queens  Boulevard,  New  York,  200  ft.  in  width; 
the  upper  carrying  six  and  the  lower  two  tracks.  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of 
Mr.  Arnold  W.  Brunner,   architect  of  both  structures.     (See  Fig.  54  and  p.  257.) 


PLATE  79 


The  upper  view  illustrates  the  appropriation  of  part  of  the  sidewalk,  on 
Broadway,  New  York.  In  the  lower  view  these  steps  have  been  removed  and 
placed  inside  the  building.  Reproduced  from  photographs  by  Mr.  Albert 
Dreyfous  (p.  264). 


Restrictions  271 


houses  must  have  70  per  cent  of  their  area  left  open,  while 
only  60  per  cent  of  open  space  is  required  if  there  are  no  base- 
ments, and  in  any  case  front  gardens  to  a  depth  of  five  meters 
do  not  count  as  open  space.  The  fourth  class  includes  de- 
tached houses,  and  60  per  cent  of  interior  lots  cannot  be  built 
upon.  Spaces  between  buildings  depend  upon  their  height, 
depth  and  length,  but  must  not  be  less  than  six  meters  between 
buildings  with  basements  and  five  meters  in  case  there  are  no 
basements,  while  front  gardens  or  yards  to  a  depth  of  five 
meters  and  the  required  distance  between  buildings  are  not 
counted  as  open  spaces.  The  fifth  class  covers  group  buildings 
and  contains  three  subdivisions:  for  interior  plots  50  per  cent 
to  60  per  cent  is  required  to  be  left  free;  double  houses  may 
have  a  length  not  exceeding  30  meters;  groups  of  four  may 
have  a  combined  length  of  50  meters,  and  groups  of  seven 
may  reach  70  meters  in  length,  while  the  distances  between 
the  groups  must  not  be  less  than  specified  for  the  fourth  class. 
The  sixth  is  a  special  class  relating  to  buildings  of  a  limited 
height  and  without  basements,  and  the  requirements  are 
generally  similar  to  the  preceding;  but  double  houses  may 
have  a  maximum  combined  length  of  45  meters. 

In  Leipzig,  the  proportion  of  the  lot  which  must  be  left  free 
of  buildings  is  indirectly  fixed  by  the  regulation  that  the  rear 
wall  of  a  building  may  not  be  higher  than  the  width  of  a  court- 
yard. If  such  a  regulation  were  applied  to  the  typical  Amer- 
ican building  lot  with  a  depth  of  100  ft.,  a  building  50  ft.  or 
4  stories  high  could  occupy  only  half  of  the  lot  area  even  if 
carried  out  to  the  street  line,  while  a  six-story  building  could 
occupy  but  one-fourth  of  the  lot.  The  city  of  Leipzig  issues 
from  time  to  time  pamphlets  which  indicate  the  tendencies 
of  city  planning  and  the  changing  point  of  view.  From  state- 
ments made  in  these  pamphlets  it  appears  that  there  is  a  ten- 
dency to  decrease  the  cost  of  street  construction  and  main- 
tenance on  those  streets  which  apparently  will  be  confined  to 
residences  by  allowing  a  width  of  only  eleven  meters,  and  in 
order  to  compensate  for  this  decreased  width,  setbacks  are 


272 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


required,  the  area  in  front  of  the  buildings  being  treated  as 
gardens.  The  opinion  is  expressed  that  more  provision  should 
be  made  in  the  development  of  the  city  plans  for  artistic  view- 
points, for  closed  street  pictures,  for  a  greater  variety  in  the 
types  of  buildings  and  censorship  of  the  plans  for  the  facades 


I  Koc  detached  buildm^s 
I  Detached  buildings 
]  Etoul  yards  or  gardens 
I  Two  family  houses 


V/ '/,;'.',■,■ -/'A  One  family  hoases 
V/-'/.'///.'//A  Villa  sites 

1  Indastrial  plants  on  limited  scale 


InduBtsial  plants  forbidden  elsewiiere. 

Fig.  55. — Showing  typical  regulations  governing  character  and  use  of  buildings 
which  are  imposed  upon  specific  areas  in  Leipzig. 


of  buildings  on  prominent  streets,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
natural  beauties  and  village  characteristics  in  outlying  dis- 
tricts. It  is  further  noted  that  in  fixing  upon  a  plan  suitable 
for  the  entire  city,  local  conditions  and  considerations  should 
be  made  subservient  to  the  consistent  development  of  the 
entire  city  and  also  of  the  neighboring  districts  which  are 
intimately  connected  with  it.     The  specific  regulations  im- 


Restrictions  273 


posed  upon  certain  well-defined  areas  in  Leipzig  are  indicated 
by  Fig.  55. 

While  the  regulations  in  force  in  other  German  cities 
might  be  given,  each  differing  from  the  others,  the  foregoing 
will  indicate  the  great  variety  of  those  designed  to  prevent 
a  too  intensive  use  of  the  land  and  an  irregular  or  ragged  appear- 
ance of  the  streets.  Each  city  appears  to  have  worked  out  its 
solution  of  this  problem  in  a  different  way:  which  has 
given  the  most  satisfactory  results  the  author  will  not  attempt 
to  say.  All  are  worthy  of  careful  study,  and  the  fact  that 
they  are  respected  and  followed  without  question  indicates 
acceptance  of  the  principle  already  frequently  enunciated 
in  these  pages,  that  the  citizen  must  in  the  public  interest 
submit  to  these  limitations  upon  the  free  use  of  his  property. 

In  Great  Britain  the  regulations  governing  the  proportion 
of  the  lot  which  must  be  left  free  are  much  less  precise  and 
there  is  a  greater  similarity  between  those  in  force  in  different 
cities.  The  provisions  of  only  two  typical  cities  will  be 
given. 

In  Birmingham  the  building  by-laws  provide  that  all  new 
dwellings  shall  be  so  erected  as  to  leave  in  the  rear  an  open 
space  having  a  total  area  of  not  less  than  300  sq.  ft.,  which 
shall  be  free  from  any  structure  above  the  ground  level 
except  water-closets,  earth-closets  or  ash-pits.  In  the  case 
of  the  re-erection  of  a  dwelling  the  total  area  of  the  open 
space  shall  be  not  less  than  150  sq.  ft.  Except  as  hereinafter 
provided  such  open  spaces  shall  extend  across  the  entire  width 
of  the  dwelling  and  shall  be  not  less  than  15  ft.  in  depth 
from  every  part  of  the  building  to  the  rear  boundary  of  the 
premises.  If  the  height  of  the  building  is  15  ft.  or  more,  but 
less  than  25  ft.,  the  depth  of  this  open  space  shall  be  at  least 
25  ft.;  if  its  height  is  25  ft.  or  more,  the  open  space  shall  be 
at  least  30  ft.,  provided  that  where  a  scullery  not  exceeding 
10  ft.  6  ins.  in  height  is  erected  at  the  back  of  a  dwelling,  the 
depth  of  the  open  space  may  be  reduced  to  not  less  than  ten 
ft.,  if  there  is  no  diminution  of  the  minimum  area  of  300  sq.  ft. 


274  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

In  SheflEield  open  spaces  must  be  left  in  the  rear  of  all 
dwelling  houses,  which  open  spaces  shall  have  a  total  area  of 
not  less  than  150  sq.  ft.  for  buildings  15  ft.  in  height,  200  sq. 
ft.  for  a  height  of  25  ft.,  250  sq.  ft.  for  a  height  of  35  ft., 
and  300  sq.  ft.  if  the  height  is  more  than  35  ft.,  the  height 
in  all  cases  being  measured  to  a  point  half  way  up  the  main 
roof. 

A  method  of  indirectly  regulating  the  proportion  of  plots 
which  may  be  built  upon  is  applied  through  the  operation  of 
the  general  town  planning  law  or  has  been  voluntarily  adopted 
in  many  of  the  so-called  garden  city  developments  which  have 
become  so  popular  of  late  and  which  are  treated  in  Chapter 
XVI.  This  is  by  limiting  the  number  of  houses  to  the  acre, 
such  limitations,  however,  applying  to  subdivisions  some  acres 
in  extent  and  covering  an  average  niunber  per  acre,  so  that  in 
one  part  of  the  subdivision  the  free  space  about  buildings 
may  be  much  less  than  in  other  parts. 

In  the  United  States  some  cities  have  much  more  drastic 
regulations  than  others  concerning  the  portion  of  the  lots 
which  may  be  built  upon,  but  in  no  case  have  they  been  worked 
out  in  as  great  detail  as  in  Germany.  In  a  few  cases  there 
has  been  an  attempt  to  establish  zones,  but  they  relate  to  the 
heights  of  buildings,  rather  than  to  their  arrangement  and 
use.  The  laws  and  ordinances  governing  the  open  spaces  are 
found  in  the  city  building  codes,  the  health  regulations,  the 
factory  and  labor  laws  and  the  city  ordinances.  They  vary 
greatly,  as  do  those  of  the  German  cities,  but  do  not  appear 
to  have  the  common  underlying  principles  which  are  apparent 
in  those  of  that  country.     A  few  instances  will  be  given: 

In  New  York  dwelling  houses  accommodating  not  more 
than  two  families  may  cover  90  per  cent  of  the  lot.  Hotels 
may  occupy  90  per  cent  of  interior  and  95  per  cent  of  corner 
lots  above  the  second  floor,  but  for  each  and  every  story  over 
five  an  additional  two  and  a  half  per  cent  of  the  lot  area  must 
be  left  free,  so  that  at  the  fifteenth  floor  35  per  cent  of  interior 
and  30  per  cent  of  corner  lots  must  be  left  free.     In  the  case 


Restrictions  275 


of  lodging  houses  35  per  cent  of  interior  and  eight  per  cent  of 
corner  lots  must  be  left  open.  Office  buildings  located  on 
interior  lots  may  cover  90  per  cent  of  the  lot  area  at  and  above 
the  second  floor,  while  when  they  occupy  corner  lots  having 
an  area  of  3000  sq.  ft.  or  less,  they  may  cover  the  entire  lot. 
Tenement  houses,  or  houses  accommodating  three  or  more 
families,  may  cover  90  per  cent  of  corner  lots  having  an  area 
of  not  more  than  3000  sq.  ft.,  but  if  located  on  interior  lots 
more  than  90  ft.  but  not  exceeding  105  ft.  in  depth,  30  per  cent 
of  the  lot  area  must  remain  uncovered. 

In  Chicago,  tenement  houses  may  not  be  built  nearer  than 
ten  feet  to  the  rear  lot  line,  except  that  when  the  lot  abuts 
upon  a  public  alley  the  rear  line  of  the  building  may  be  within 
16  ft.  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  alley.  Rear  buildings  may 
be  erected  on  a  lot  only  on  condition  that  the  minimum 
distance  between  front  and  rear  buildings  is  ten  feet,  and  pro- 
vided, further,  that  neither  building  exceeds  one  story  in 
height,  while  five  feet  additional  must  be  added  to  the  mini- 
mum distance  for  every  story  more  than  one  of  the  higher 
building  on  the  lot,  provided  that  a  one-story  building,  without 
basement  and  not  used  for  habitation,  may  be  placed  on  the 
rear  of  a  lot  containing  a  tenement  house,  if  a  minimum  dis- 
tance of  ten  feet  between  buildings  is  maintained  at  every 
point.  Courts  and  shafts  are  required,  which  shall  increase 
in  size  with  the  number  of  stories. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  only  regulation  governing  the  pro- 
portion of  a  lot  which  may  be  built  upon  is  that  no  building 
for  dwelling  purposes  shall  have  a  frontage  of  less  than 
14  ft.  and  that  at  least  144  sq.  ft.  of  the  lot  shall  be  left 
open. 

Boston  requires  that  where  tenement  houses  have  no 
open  space  on  either  side  they  must  have  a  yard  the  full  width 
of  the  building,  at  least  twelve  feet  in  depth  in  the  rear,  and 
the  building  must  not  exceed  1800  sq.  ft.  in  area. 

In  Rochester,  tenement  houses  may  not  cover  more  than 
70  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  lot. 


/bW^ 


276  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Mr.  V.  D.  Allen,  Commissioner  of  Buildings,  of  Cleveland, 
has  proposed  a  simple  method  of  regulating  the  size  of  courts 
and  yards  in  connection  with  tenement  houses.  His  sugges- 
tion is  that  the  height  of  the  wall  which  casts  a  shadow  and  not 
the  number  of  stories  or  the  shape  or  horizontal  dimensions  of 
the  building  should  be  the  controlling  factor.  At  the  latitude  of 
Cleveland  the  sun  is  71°  above  the  horizon  at  noon  on  June  21st, 
and  he  maintains  that  direct  sunlight  should  reach  the  bottom 
of  the  court  or  yard  at  least  once  during  the  year,  and  he  there- 
fore proposes  fixing  the  minimum  dimension  of  the  court  or  yard 
as  the  tangent  of  the  angle  between  the  sun's  rays  on  June 
2ist  and  the  vertical  or  19°.  This  tangent  is  0.344.  He 
therefore  proposes  that  the  depth  of  the  yard  or  the  width  of 
the  court  should  be  one-third  the  height  of  the  wall.  He  also 
suggests  that  in  the  case  of  interior  courts  the  length  be  fixed 
at  one  and  a  half  times  its  width,  which  would  make  this  length 
one-half  the  height  of  the  wall.  Where  a  passageway  is  pro- 
vided at  the  side  of  the  building  from  the  front  to  the  yard 
in  the  rear,  it  is  made  one-half  the  width  of  the  court  or  yard, 
on  the  ground  that  while  sunlight  is  lost  a  free  circulation  of 
air  is  obtained.  This  would  make  the  passage  at  the  side  of 
the  building  one-sixth  the  height  of  the  adjoining  wall,  with  a 
minimum  of  four  feet.  The  minimum  width  or  the  depth  of 
rear  yards  on  interior  lots  he  also  proposes  to  make  ten  feet, 
while  on  corner  lots  the  minimum  is  reduced  to  eight  feet. 

As  previously  noted,  regulations  governing  the  portions  of 
building  plots  which  may  be  occupied  are  not  likely  to  be 
opposed,  as  their  necessity  is  obvious.  Those  which  are 
designed  to  limit  the  height  to  which  buildings  may  be  carried 
or  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  city  are  not  always 
accepted  as  reasonable.  It  is  true  that  danger  from  fire 
or  panic  increases  with  the  number  of  stories,  but  fireproof 
construction  has  greatly  advanced  in  recent  years,  and  there 
has  been  a  great  improvement  in  the  devices  for  controlling 
fire  and  rapidly  emptying  large  buildings  even  when  of  exces- 
sive height.     Offices  on  the  highest  floors  of  the  American 


Restrictions  277 


skyscrapers  rent  more  readily  than  any  others,  and  they  are 
not  only  delightfully  comfortable  but  frequently  luxurious. 
Why,  then,  both  owner  and  tenant  are  likely  to  ask,  attempt 
to  limit  building  heights  for  the  sake  of  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  city,  and  thereby  limit  the  earning  capacity  of  a 
building  and  the  value  of  the  ground  and  make  it  impossible  for 
those  who  wish  comfortable  offices  on  the  twenty-fifth  or  fortieth 
floor  and  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  to  secure  what  they  want? 

Whether  the  rigid  height  limitations  imposed  in  Conti- 
nental, and  especially  in  German,  cities  are  altogether  wise, 
is  a  debatable  question.  There  appears  lately  to  have  been 
an  impression  that  they  have  gone  too  far.  Before  discussing 
this  question  further,  let  us  see  just  what  they  are,  and  for 
this  purpose  the  same  cities  whose  regulations  as  to  the  area 
of  lots  which  may  be  occupied  will  be  used  as  examples. 

Berlin  limits  the  height  of  buildings  to  the  width  of  the 
street  upon  which  they  front  measured  between  the  building 
lines,  but  there  is  a  general  regulation  that  the  fronts  of  no 
buildings  for  habitation  may  exceed  five  stories  in  height, 
although  the  roof  may  be  carried  to  a  greater  height  provided 
no  part  of  it  projects  beyond  a  line  drawn  at  an  angle  of  45° 
back  from  the  top  of  the  front  wall.  In  the  case  of  rear  build- 
ings or  buildings  fronting  upon  inside  courts,  which  are  all 
too  common  in  this  and  other  German  cities,  the  limits  of 
height  are  governed  by  the  dimensions  of  the  court,  but 
their  height  may  not  exceed  by  more  than  six  meters  the  ^idth 
of  the  court  on  which  they  front,  and  in  no  case  may  it  exceed 
22  meters. 

In  Frankfort-on-the-Main  front  buildings  on  streets  less 
than  nine  meters  wide  may  not  exceed  eleven  meters  in  height. 
In  the  center  of  the  city  and  in  the  factory  district  buildings 
on  wider  streets  may  exceed  the  street  width  in  height  by  two 
meters,  but  may  not  in  any  case  be  more  than  20  meters  high. 
In  the  residential  districts  of  the  inner  and  outer  zones  no 
buildings  may  exceed  18  meters  in  height,  while  in  the  residen- 
tial and  mixed  districts  of  the  suburban  zone  the  limit  is 


278  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

1 6  meters.  No  dwelling  house  in  any  part  of  the  city  may  be 
higher  than  i8  meters.  Where  the  building  height  is  controlled 
by  the  street  width,  two-thirds  of  the  width  of  front  gardens 
left  between  the  building  and  the  street  line  may  be  added 
to  the  height.  Rear  buildings  on  courts  less  than  six  meters 
wide  may  not  be  more  than  eight  meters  high.  In  the  central 
and  factory  districts  their  height  may  exceed  the  width  of 
the  court  by  two  meters,  with  a  maximum  hight  of  20  meters. 
In  the  residential  and  mixed  districts  of  the  inner  zone  and  in 
the  mixed  districts  of  the  outer  zone  the  maximum  height  of 
rear  buildings  is  13  meters,  while  in  the  residential  district 
of  the  outer  zone  and  the  residential  and  mixed  districts  of 
the  suburban  zone  it  is  nine  meters,  and  in  the  country  district, 
six  meters. 

Munich  specifies  height  limits  depending  upon  the  street 
width  in  the  case  of  buildings  in  blocks,  and  imposes  a  flat 
limit  for  four  classes  of  detached  buildings.  Non-detached 
buildings  may  not  exceed  in  height  the  average  width  of  the 
street  upon  which  they  front,  including  front  gardens,  but  in  no 
case  may  they  be  higher  than  22  meters.  In  streets  less  than 
twelve  meters  wide  a  height  of  twelve  meters  is  allowed.  Cor- 
nices may  nowhere  be  higher  than  on  the  street  front.  Dwell- 
ings may  not  be  more  than  five  stories  high,  including  the 
ground  floor.  Buildings  on  the  rear  of  lots  may  not  be  more 
than  three  stories  high,  and  in  no  case  of  a  greater  height 
than  is  permitted  for  front  buildings  on  the  same  lot.  De- 
tached buildings  are  divided  into  four  classes,  in  the  first  of 
which  20  meters  is  the  limit  of  height  for  both  front  and  rear 
buildings;  in  the  second,  18  and  12  meters;  in  the  third  15  and 
12  meters,  and  in  the  fourth,  12  and  9  meters  for  front  and 
rear  buildings,  respectively. 

Hamburg  has  less  complicated  regulations  than  most 
German  cities.  In  what  are  called  the  city  divisions,  in  con- 
trast with  the  suburban  divisions,  no  buildings  may  exceed 
30  meters  in  height.  Gable  walls  may  not  be  more  than 
30  meters  and  other  types  of  enclosing  walls  not  more  than 


Restrictions  279 


24  meters  high.  In  the  outer  or  suburban  divisions  these 
heights  are  very  much  reduced  by  prescribing  the  maximum 
number  of  stories  above  the  ground  floor,  and  in  some  districts 
houses  with  more  than  a  ground  floor  are  not  permitted. 

In  Diisseldorf  the  city  is  divided  into  five  zones,  with  the 
following  height  restrictions  in  each: 

Zone  I,  20  meters, 

Zone  II,  16  meters,  or,  where  four  stories  are  allowed, 
20  meters, 

Zone  III,  the  same  as  for  Zone  II. 

Zone  IV,  16  meters. 

Zone  V,  13  meters,  or,  where  three  stories  are  allowed, 
16  meters. 

In  all  of  the  zones,  however,  the  height  of  buildings  may  in 
no  case  exceed  the  width  of  the  streets  upon  which  they  abut. 
While  the  permissible  heights  appear  in  some  cases  to  be  the 
same  in  different  zones,  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  classes 
of  buildings  which  govern  the  proportion  of  the  lot  area  which 
may  be  built  upon  vary  in  each  zone,  as  described  on  page  269. 

Cologne  divides  buildings  into  six  classes  as  to  height, 
these  corresponding  with  the  same  number  of  classes  as  to 
the  part  of  the  lot  which  must  be  left  free.  Classes  i,  2  and  3 
relate  to  non-detached  buildings.  Class  i  having  a  limit  of 
20  meters.  Class  2  of  15  meters,  and  Class  3  of  15  meters  where 
there  are  basements  and  12.5  meters  if  without  basements. 
Class  4  includes  detached  buildings,  and  the  limit  is  15  meters 
with  and  12.5  meters  if  without  basements.  Class  5  includes 
groups  of  buildings,  and  the  limits  are  the  same  as  in  Classes 
3  and  4,  while  the  sixth  is  a  special  class  including  buildings 
up  to  15  meters  in  height  without  basements. 

Leipzig  simply  provides  that  the  height  of  buildings  to  the 
top  of  the  main  cornice  may  not  exceed  the  width  of  the  street 
upon  which  they  front,  while  in  the  central  portion  of  the  city 
this  height  may  not  in  any  case  exceed  22  meters. 

While  in  Great  Britain  considerable  attention  has  been 


280  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

paid  to  the  securing  of  better  housing  conditions  and  there  is 
a  disposition  to  restrict  the  proportion  of  the  lot  which  may  be 
built  upon,  the  regulations  affecting  the  heights  of  buildings 
are  quite  meagre,  although  limitations  of  this  character  are 
likely  to  be  imposed  in  connection  with  town  planning  schemes 
undertaken  in  accordance  with  the  general  law  of  1909,  which 
is  quite  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  XVII. 

Edinburgh  was  the  birthplace  of  the  skyscraper,  but  the 
high  buildings  in  that  city  are  perched  on  the  steep  hillsides. 
An  Edinburgh  lady  in  conversation  with  the  author  severely 
criticised  the  tall  station  hotels  at  either  end  of  the  beautiful 
garden  on  Princes  street,  when  he  reminded  her  of  the  fact 
that  the  skyscraper  originated  in  her  city,  and  she  in  reply 
pointed  out  that  the  proper  place  for  towers  or  castles  was 
on  the  hilltops,  where  they  can  be  seen  to  advantage  and 
serve  to  accentuate  the  topography,  but  when  placed  in  the 
valleys  their  effect  is  to  fill  up  the  low  places  and  detract 
from  the  beauty  and  dignity  of  the  surrounding  hills;  and  the 
force  of  her  argument  will  be  admitted. 

In  Birmingham  no  buildings  may  be  erected  to  a  height 
greater  than  100  ft. 

Sheffield  since  1900  has  limited  the  height  of  all  buildings 
to  the  width  of  the  streets  upon  which  they  front,  although 
provision  appears  to  be  made  for  carrying  them  to  a  greater 
height  by  special  permission  of  the  Corporation. 

In  Liverpool  the  height  of  dwelling  houses  erected  in  new 
streets  may  not  exceed  the  width  between  opposite  buildings 
abutting  on  such  streets,  but  there  is  no  limit  to  the  height 
to  which  business  buildings  may  be  carried. 

In  cities  of  the  United  States  differences  in  the  regulations 
respecting  permissible  heights  of  buildings  are  at  least  as 
great  as  those  affecting  the  required  open  spaces. 

While  in  New  York  the  labor,  tenement-house  and  other 
special  laws  impose  a  virtual  limit  upon  the  height  of  certain 
classes  of  buildings,  there  is  no  direct  limit  prescribed  by 
statute  or  ordinance  except  that  restricting  buildings  used  as 


Restrictions  281 


dwellings  to  a  height  of  one  and  a  half  times  the  width  of  the 
widest  abutting  street.  Office  buildings  may  be  carried  to 
any  height,  the  tallest  of  this  class  yet  erected  rising  to  an 
elevation  of  752  ft.  above  the  street  level.  A  comprehensive 
scheme  of  height  limitations  has  been  proposed,  which  is 
described  in  detail  in  Chapter  XVIII. 

In  Chicago  tenements  or  dwelling  houses  may  not  exceed 
by  more  than  one-half  the  width  of  the  widest  street  on  which 
they  front,  buildings  which  are  set  back  from  the  street  line 
being  allowed  to  add  the  amount  of  such  setback  to  the  street 
width  in  computing  the  allowable  height.  Fireproof  build- 
ings for  office  and  business  purposes  may  be  carried  to  a 
height  of  200  ft.  above  the  sidewalk  level,  but  prior  to  Sep- 
tember 1, 191 1,  the  limit  of  height  for  such  buildings  was  260  ft. 

Philadelphia  has  no  law  or  ordinance  whatever  limiting 
building  heights. 

In  Boston  buildings  in  the  business  section  may  not  exceed 
two  and  a  half  times  the  street  width,  and  in  no  case  may  be 
more  than  125  ft.  high.  In  other  parts  of  the  city  the  limit 
of  height  is  80  ft.,  except  that  where  but  one  side  of  a  street 
is  built  upon  or  where  a  street  is  80  ft.  or  more  in  width  the 
height  may  be  100  ft.  Wooden  dwellings  are  limited  to  three 
stories  above  the  basement,  but  may  in  no  case  be  more  than 
45  ft.  above  the  street  level. 

Washington  imposes  a  limit  of  160  ft.  for  buildings  on  its 
very  wide  Pennsylvania  avenue;  20  ft.  more  than  the  street 
width  on  other  business  streets,  with  a  flat  limit  of  130  ft.; 
85  ft.  on  residential  streets  provided  that  on  streets  over 
70  ft.  wide  the  height  may  not  exceed  the  street  width  less 
ten  ft. ;  60  ft.  on  streets  from  60  to  70  ft.  wide,  and  the  street 
width  where  that  width  is  less  than  60  ft. 

Charleston,  New  Orleans,  Cleveland  and  Fort  Wayne 
restrict  building  heights  to  two  and  a  half  times  the  width 
of  the  widest  street,  with  absolute  limits  of  125  ft.  in  Charles- 
ton, 160  ft.  in  New  Orleans  and  200  ft.  in  Cleveland  and  Fort 
Wayne. 


282  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Buffalo  and  Rochester  limit  the  height  to  four  times  the 
average  least  dimension  without  specific  limit  in  feet,  while 
Toronto,  Canada,  permits  a  height  of  five  times  the  least 
dimension,  with  an  absolute  limit  of  130  ft. 

A  further  and  more  radical  step  in  the  direction  of  regulating 
or  restricting  the  use  of  the  property  outside  the  street  lines 
is  the  attempt  to  specify  the  uses  to  which  the  property  may 
be  put.  While  for  many  years  the  conduct  of  certain  noxious 
trades  or  occupations  has  been  quite  generally  prohibited 
within  city  limits  or  has  been  restricted  to  certain  districts 
where  they  would  not  affect  values  or  discourage  other  use  of 
neighboring  property,  the  division  of  the  entire  city  into  dis- 
tricts, in  each  of  which  is  prescribed  the  use  to  which  private 
property  may  be  put,  is  coming  to  be  considered  a  reasonable 
exercise  of  the  authority  of  the  municipality.  This  plan  of 
districting  has  been  most  fully  developed  in  the  German 
cities.  The  districts  or  zones  governing  height  and  area 
limitations  have  already  been  described,  but  parts  of  each  of 
them  are  commonly  restricted  to  business,  residential,  manu- 
facturing or  mixed  occupancy.  The  factory  districts  are  nat- 
urally those  located  along  lines  of  rail  or  water  transportation, 
but  their  location  with  respect  to  the  remainder  of  the  city 
is  sometimes  determined  by  the  direction  of  prevailing  winds, 
in  order  that  smoke  and  odors  may  not  become  a  nuisance 
in  the  business  and  residential  districts. 

A  number  of  American  cities  have  adopted  districting 
regulations,  but  none  of  them  appears  to  have  gone  as  far 
in  this  respect  as  Los  Angeles.  By  an  ordinance  enacted  in 
1909  the  entire  city,  with  the  exception  of  two  suburbs,  is 
divided  into  industrial  and  residential  districts,  there  being 
twenty-five  of  the  former  and  but  one  of  the  latter.  This 
does  not  mean  that  there  is  one  great  unbroken  area  of 
the  city  devoted  exclusively  to  residences.  The  industrial 
districts  are  widely  scattered  and  the  residential  district 
includes  the  remaining  area,  so  that  it  entirely  surrounds 
many  of  the  industrial  districts  and  really  covers  the  entire 


Restrictions  283 


city,  with  limited  areas  taken  out  here  and  there.  Further 
than  this,  there  are  within  the  residential  districts  not  less 
than  58  districts  designated  as  "  residence  exceptions,"  in 
which  business  is  permitted  subject  to  certain  conditions. 
The  industrial  districts  vary  greatly  both  in  shape  and  size, 
the  largest  including  an  area  of  several  square  miles  and  the 
smallest  consisting  of  one  single  lot.  They  are  generally, 
however,  confined  to  one  part  of  the  city,  while  their  com- 
bined area  is  only  about  one-tenth  that  of  the  residential 
district.  While  one  of  the  "  residence  exceptions  "  is  about 
half  a  square  mile  in  area,  the  others  are  small,  covering  not 
more  than  two  city  blocks.  The  restrictions  within  the  dis- 
tricts are  not  sweeping.  In  most  of  the  industrial  districts 
all  kinds  of  business  and  manufacturing  are  unrestricted, 
while  certain  specific  kinds  of  business  are  excluded  from  the 
residential  district;  but  those  not  especially  excluded  are 
permitted  in  the  "  residence  exceptions."  The  owners  of 
60  per  cent  of  the  neighboring  property  frontage  must  consent 
to  the  establishment  of  any  "  residence  exception." 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance  the  municipal 
authorities  have  summarily  ejected  a  number  of  small  busi- 
nesses, such  as  laundries,  from  the  residential  district,  and  in 
one  case  a  brick-yard,  established  before  the  district  in  which 
it  was  located  became  a  part  of  the  city  and  operated  for  /^ 
seven  years  before  the  law  was  enacted,  was  compelled  to 
remove  kilns,  buildings  and  machinery,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  land  upon  which  it  was  located  contained  deposits 
of  clay  which  made  it  more  valuable  for  this  purpose  than  for 
any  other.  Appeals  have  been  made  to  the  courts,  but  the 
constitutionality  of  the  law  has  been  sustained. 

Seattle  adopted  a  building  code  in  19 13  which  imposes 
restrictions  upon  the  use  to  which  property  within  the  city 
may  be  put,  while  the  State  Legislature  of  Maryland  has  by 
special  law  regulated  the  use  of  property  in  certain  parts  of 
the  city  of  Baltimore.  The  State  of  New  York  in  19 13 
authorized  the  municipal  legislative  body  in  any  city  of  the 


284  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

second  class,  on  petition  of  two-thirds  of  the  property  owners 
affected,  to  establish  residential  districts  within  which  no 
buildings  other  than  single  or  two-family  dwellings  may  be 
erected,  such  restrictions  to  continue  until  a  similar  petition 
shall  have  been  presented  to  and  approved  by  the  same  body. 
In  191 2  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  so  amended  the  general 
municipal  law  as  to  permit  any  city  or  town  in  the  state, 
except  Boston,  which  is  covered  by  special  acts,  to  regulate 
the  height,  area,  location  and  use  of  buildings  and  other 
structures  within  the  whole  or  any  defined  part  of  its  limits 
for  the  prevention  of  fire  and  the  preservation  of  life,  health 
and  morals,  excepting,  however,  bridges,  quays,  wharves  and 
structures  owned  or  occupied  by  the  national  or  state  govern- 
ment. 

Minnesota,  in  1913,  authorized  the  cities  of  Minneapolis, 
St.  Paul  and  Duluth  to  establish  residential  and  industrial 
districts  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  municipal  legislative  bodies 
when  petitioned  for  by  a  majority  of  the  property  owners  in 
any  proposed  district.  Authority  is  given  to  classify  the 
various  industries  and  to  restrict  each  class  to  a  definite  and 
limited  area,  while  upon  a  similar  majority  petition  the  original 
restrictions  may  be  set  aside  or  an  industrial  district  may  be 
changed  to  a  residential  district,  or  vice  versa.  Minneapolis 
has  availed  herself  of  this  authority  and  has  created  certain 
industrial  and  residential  districts,  but  the  constitutionality 
of  the  ordinances  has  not  yet  been  determined  by  the  courts. 

Wisconsin  also,  in  1913,  conferred  quite  similar  power 
upon  eight  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  state,  the  demand 
for  which  powers  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Common 
Council  of  the  City  of  Milwaukee,  some  months  before  the 
enactment  of  the  state  law,  adopted  an  ordinance  establishing 
a  business  section  and  prohibiting  certain  industries  anywhere 
within  the  corporate  limits. 

The  Provincial  Legislature  of  Ontario,  Canada,  has  author- 
ized the  councils  of  cities  having  a  population  of  more  than 
100,000  to  enact  by-laws  restricting  the  erection  of  buildings 


Restrictions  285 


of  certain  classes  to  designated  parts  of  the  city,  and 
Toronto,  acting  under  the  provisions  of  this  law,  has  pre- 
scribed the  uses  to  which  property  may  be  put  in  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  city.  Under  this  enactment  apart- 
ment houses  and  garages  are  excluded  from  most  of  the  residen- 
tial streets. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  ideas  that  the  municipal  authorities 
have  a  distinct  responsibility  for  the  manner  in  which  cities 
shall  develop,  that  the  right  of  the  general  public  to  protection 
from  unsightly  and  offensive  development  must  be  respected, 
and  that  the  individual  property  owner  is  entitled  to  a  guaran- 
tee of  the  permanence  of  the  character  of  the  district  in  which 
he  has  located  his  home  or  his  business,  have  lately  taken  a 
firm  hold  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  This  realization 
has  come  slowly,  but  unless  the  municipal  authorities  are 
carried  away  by  their  enthusiasm  for  a  new  idea  and  the 
regulations  which  may  be  imposed  are  so  unreasonable  as  to 
defeat  their  purpose  and  are  overruled  by  the  courts,  they  have 
probably  come  to  stay.  Sanity  in  the  framing  and  application 
of  such  restrictions  is  as  essential  as  a  realization  of  the  folly 
and  shortsightedness  of  conceding  to  the  individual  the  un- 
restricted right  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  his  own  property, 
without  regard  for  his  neighbors  or  for  the  orderliness  and 
sightliness  of  the  city  in  which  he  lives,  and  to  the  growth 
and  progress  of  which  he  owes  his  success. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  ENVIRONS  OF  THE  CITY 

A  SERIOUS  defect  in  most  of  the  city  planning  which  has 
been  done  is  that  the  studies  and  the  resulting  plans 
stop  abruptly  at  the  city  line.     While  this  may  have  been  due 
in  some  cases  to  lack  of  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  planner  or 
failure  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  area  beyond  the  arbitrary 
Hne  now  forming  the  city  boundary  would  some  day  become 
a  part  of  the  greater  city  and  that  the  plans  of  these  outlying 
districts  would  ultimately  have  to  be  corrected  and  adjusted 
to  new  conditions,  it  is  more  frequently  due  to  lack  of  proper 
authority,  to  small  units  of  administration  or  to  overlapping 
authority  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  bodies  or  boards  having 
concurrent  jurisdiction.     There  is  likely  to  be  a  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  smaller  towns  to  resent  an  intrusion  into 
their  territory  as  an  infringement  of  their  independence  and 
their  jealously  guarded  autonomy.     As  an  example,  in  and 
about  London   the   Local    Government   Board,    the   London 
County   Council,    the   various   local   councils,    the   Board   of 
Trade  and  the  Road  Board  all  have  a  certain  amount  of  juris- 
diction over  and  responsibility   for   the   development  of  an 
adequate   system   of   highways  within   the   different  munici- 
palities and  roads  connecting  various  centers  of  population. 
Each  locality  is  jealous  of  its  own  powers,  and  there  is  a  disposi- 
tion on  its  part  to  consider  as  conclusive  its  own  views  of  what 
may  be  needed  in  the  way  of  inter-urban  highways;   the  larger 
aspect   of    the   problem — that   of   tying   together    the   entire 
highway  system  of  a  thickly  settled  portion  of  a  country — 
is  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of.     It  is  said  that  within  fifteen  miles 
of  Charing  Cross  there  are  ninety  local  road  authorities  act- 

286 


The  Environs  of  the  City  287 

ing  independently  of  each  other,  and  that  a  main  road  in 
twenty  miles  may  pass  through  territory  controlled  by  ten 
different  highway  authorities.  Concerted  action  under  such 
circumstances  is  manifestly  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
and  while  during  the  last  eighty  years  London  and  its  traffic 
have  increased  a  hundred-fold,  it  is  said  that  within  that 
period  no  new  main  road  has  been  built  leading  out  of  the  city. 

In  the  United  States,  where  centers  of  population  were 
originally  established  at  points  remote  from  each  other,  these 
centers  were  connected  by  roads  which  have  since  developed 
into  important  and  reasonably  direct  arteries  of  traffic,  such 
as  those  connecting  New  York  with  Boston,  Albany  and  Phila- 
delphia, the  length  of  these  roads  being  respectively  about 
230,  150  and  100  miles.  The  original  highways  were  crudely 
located  and  constructed.  The  road  surface  was  little  more 
than  the  native  soil,  the  tractive  force  required  in  proportion 
to  the  load  was  very  great  and  the  gradients  were  necessarily 
light  and  were  secured,  not  by  cutting  down  hills  and  filling 
up  valleys,  but  by  detours,  short  or  long,  as  the  topography 
required.  Since  the  introduction  of  self-propelled  vehicles, 
with  their  greatly  increased  radius  of  action,  the  loss  of  time, 
energy  and  money  caused  by  lack  of  directness  in  these  main 
highways  has  been  more  apparent,  and  any  intelligent  plan 
for  their  improvement  and  extension  must  include  the  correc- 
tion of  alignment  in  the  existing  roads  and  provision  for  more 
direct  routes  between  important  centers.  The  degree  of  direct- 
ness which  is  practicable  will  depend  upon  the  gradients, 
which  are  controlled  by  the  topography,  and  upon  the  desira- 
bility of  slight  departures  from  a  generally  direct  course 
between  focal  points  in  order  to  give  subordinate  centers  of 
population  convenient  access  to  the  main  arteries. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  plan  for  the  future  development  of 
a  city  or  new  portion  of  a  city  will  have  fallen  short  of  comple- 
tion if  it  does  not  take  into  account  the  environs  of  the  city. 
It  is  seldom  possible  to  do  this  as  effectively  through  the 
co-operation  of  different  administrative  units  as  it  would  be 


288  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

if  a  metropolitan  planning  district  were  created  and  some 
board  or  commission  were  given  power  to  make  and  impose 
upon  the  smaller  municipalities  within  its  limits  a  plan  which 
would  treat  the  entire  district  as  a  whole.     Such  a  policy  is 
not  infrequently  followed  in  the  development  of  comprehensive 
plans  for  systems  of  water  supply,  sewerage  or  parks,  but 
rarely,  if  ever,  in  the  case  of  a  system  of  highways.     Even  in 
contiguous   territory,    the   annexation   of  which   to   the   city 
may  confidently  be  expected  in  the  near  future,   the  local 
authorities,  and  even  private  real  estate  developers,  are  allowed 
until  the  very  day  of  absorption  into  the  larger  city  or  town 
to  proceed  with  the  laying  out  of  streets  in  an  entirely  inde- 
pendent manner,  as  though  they  were  to  continue  as  separate 
and    independent    towns,   having  no  relation  to  each  other 
except  that  of  propinquity.     Even  the  cities  of  Continental 
Europe,   which   have   powers   to   regulate   their   growth   and 
development  that  are  unknown  in  America,  can,  as  a  rule, 
exercise  control  over   the  planning  of  the  territory  outside 
their  limits  only  through  the  actual  ownership  of  large  tracts 
of  land  or,  in  some  cases,  through  an  appeal  to  the  authority 
of  the    state.      The  British    Town   Planning  Act  of  1909  is 
based  upon  the  idea  that  in  a  thickly  populated  country  the 
plan  of  every  town  should  be  considered  in  its  relation  to  the 
country  about  it  and  to  the  street  systems  of  contiguous  and 
neighboring  towns,  all  plans  being  subject  to  the  approval 
of  a  central  authority  whose  jurisdiction  extends  over   the 
whole  of  Great  Britain.     The  provisions  of  this  act  and  some 
of  the  accompHshments  under  it  are  outlined  at  some  length 
in  succeeding  chapters. 

The  street  system  of  every  town,  whether  large  or  small, 
should  be  articulated  with  the  highways,  not  only  of  neighbor- 
ing towns,  but  with  those  of  the  next  larger  poHtical  unit, 
the  county;  and  these  in  turn  with  those  of  adjacent  counties, 
the  main  roads  of  which  should  form  a  complete  system  of 
state  highways.  The  chief  highway  joining  two  towns  should 
form    a   direct   connection   with   the   most   important   traffic 


The  Environs  of  the  City  289 

thoroughfares  of  each.  Frequently  this  is  not  the  case,  but 
the  main  and  sometimes  the  only  adequate  road  connecting 
them  leads  at  either  end  into  narrow,  tortuous  and  shabby 
streets  which  must  be  traversed  in  order  to  reach  the  business 
or  administrative  center.  The  impression  gained  of  either 
will  be  unfortunate,  while  the  pleasure,  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  going  from  one  to  the  other  will  be  greatly  increased 
if  the  approach  in  either  case  is  through  a  dignified,  well- 
improved  street,  constantly  increasing  in  importance  and  in- 
terest until  the  climax  is  reached  at  a  well-designed  and  con- 
venient focal  point,  whether  it  be  a  civic  center,  the  business 
district,  a  railway  terminal  or  the  waterfront.  Streets  are 
frequently  given  a  generous  width  up  to  the  corporate  limits 
of  a  city,  where  they  connect  with  important  and  heavily 
traveled  roads;  but  their  width  is  abruptly  reduced  at  the 
boundary,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  city  is  almost 
certain  to  extend  its  limits,  when  these  roads  will  become  city 
streets  and  their  widening  will  be  necessary.  Roads  of  this 
kind  should  be  gradually  increased  in  width  as  they  approach 
a  city  and  the  cost  of  doing  so  will  be  slight  if  it  is  done  in  time. 
The  purpose  of  a  road  leading  from  a  city  into  the  surrounding 
country  is  not  solely  that  of  reaching  some  objective  point  in 
the  shortest  possible  time  and  by  the  most  direct  route. 
Many  of  the  French  roads  were  laid  out  "  from  steeple  to 
steeple  "  or  from  one  point  to  another  in  perfectly  straight 
lines  over  ridges  and  across  valleys  with  Httle  regard  for  easy 
grades.  Such  roads,  while  originally  located  with  a  view  to 
military  strategy,  are  becoming  more  and  more  used  for  pleasure 
traffic.  With  the  greater  speed  of  motor  vehicles  a  slightly 
greater  distance  is  of  Uttle  or  no  importance,  particularly  when 
by  lengthening  the  roads  somewhat  the  grades  will  be  improved 
and  they  can  be  made  in  every  way  more  attractive. 

Cities  commonly  confine  their  park  areas  within  their  cor- 
porate limits,  but  in  selecting  such  reservations  the  environs 
of  the  city  should  be  considered.  Some  of  the  most  valuable 
and  useful  pleasure  grounds  could  profitably  be  acquired  long 


290  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

before  the  city  limits  are  expanded  to  include  them,  and  even 
though  they  remain  permanently  outside  the  city  Umits,  the 
people  will  use  them  if  they  are  made  accessible  by  transit  Hnes. 
This  subject  has  been  more  fully  treated  and  illustrated  in  the 
chapter  on  Parks  and  Recreation  Facilities. 

There  has  lately  been  marked  activity  in  the  plotting  and 
development  of  suburban  tracts.  This  is  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  with  improved  methods  of  transportation  and  cheap 
fares  those  who  work  for  small  pay  are  no  longer  obhged  to  Hve 
where  they  work  or  immediately  adjacent  thereto  or  even  within 
walking  distance.  Cheap  and  quick  transportation  has  enabled 
them  to  seek  healthy  homes  for  their  famihes  in  districts  which 
are  still  essentially  rural.  To  provide  houses  for  them  many 
unrelated  developments  have  been  made  on  the  outskirts  of  all 
great  cities.  Where  the  cities  themselves  have  acquired  large 
areas  of  land  outside  their  corporate  limits,  as  have  so  many  of 
the  German  towns,  the  sightly  and  sanitary  development  of 
cheap  residential  property  can  be  insured;  but  without  such 
ownership  there  is  an  obvious  necessity  of  granting  greater 
powers  than  are  now  possessed  by  most  cities  for  the  control 
and  development  of  the  surrounding  territory. 

The  unsightly  approaches  to  growing  American  towns 
are  proverbial.  Cheap  and  hideous  groups  of  houses  are  much 
in  evidence  in  their  suburbs.  This  is  in  marked  contrast  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  towns  of  continental  Europe  move 
soHdly  outward  into  the  surrounding  country,  one  block  at 
a  time.  The  building  stops  abruptly  and  beyond  the  last 
developed  block  is  open  country,  so  that  the  cities  appear  more 
compact.  Their  superficial  area  is  less  and  the  density  of 
population  per  acre  appears  to  be  greater  than  is  the  case  in 
British  and  American  cities.  The  development  of  these  rural 
districts  outside  of  the  built-up  territory  is  not,  however,  left 
to  chance,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  German  cities;  but  long 
before  any  building  is  done  the  street  system  is  planned  after 
the  most  careful  study,  limitations  of  building  heights  and  the 
proportion  of  the  lots  which  may  be  built  upon  are  determined, 


The  Environs  of  the  City  291 

and  the  highways  by  which  the  city  is  to  be  connected  with 
the  neighboring  towns  which  may  some  day  be  a  portion  of  it 
and  with  others  more  distant  are  definitely  located. 

In  the  thickly  populated  countries  of  Europe  and  in  some  of 
the  eastern  United  States,  where  the  towns  are  close  together 
and  frequently  within  sight  of  each  other,  the  spaces  between 
them  need  planning  as  well  as  the  towns  themselves.  Not  only 
should  the  towns  and  their  immediate  environs  be  considered, 
but  the  time  has  come  when  still  larger  units  must  be  taken  into 
account.  Mr.  Arthur  C.  Comey  has  expressed  the  idea  in  these 
words : 

All  these  separate  city,  town  and  rural  plans,  however,  even  when 
added  to  one  another  leave  a  gap  in  the  development  of  the  state,  because 
they  are  not  properly  correlated  so  as  to  produce  a  cumulative  effect.  It 
is  state  planning  that  is  needed. 

In  Massachusetts  the  beneficial  results  from  such  a  plan  would  be 
particularly  apparent,  as  its  density  of  population  is  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  state  except  Rhode  Island,  and  greater  than  that  of  any  country 
in  the  world  except  Belgium,  previous  to  the  war,  and  Holland.  Partly 
as  a  result  of  this  density  the  interests  of  its  cities  and  towns  frequently 
overlap  and  even  conflict.  In  Essex  County,  for  example,  with  its  many 
hundred  acres  of  wild  land  and  low-valued  farms,  there  is  no  point  more 
than  nine  miles  from  the  center  of  the  nearest  city  of  25,000  or  more. 
Boston's  sphere  of  influence,  over  which  her  plan  should  spread,  properly 
covers  the  entire  metropolitan  district,  including  some  38  cities  and  towns, 
each  one  of  which  may  be  planning  for  its  own  special  interests  to  the 
detriment  of  the  district  as  a  whole.  Again,  Lawrence  is  growing  out  into 
the  towns  of  Methuen,  Andover  and  North  Andover,  which  hem  it  in  on 
all  sides,  yet  it  has  no  power  to  insist  on  the  provision  of  adequate  thor- 
oughfares or  playground  sites  for  its  people.'- 

There  have  been  some  notable  achievements  in  this  direc- 
tion, such  as  the  creation  of  the  admirable  system  of  parks  in 
the  metropolitan  district  about  Boston  (Fig.  35,  p.  137),  the 
highways  leading  in  every  direction  from  Philadelphia  (Fig.  56), 
the  Bronx  Parkway,  and  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  system 
with  its  connecting  drives  (Fig.  36,  p.  1^4).  It  is  doubtful 
if  anything  finer  or  more  spectacular  has  been  done  than  the 
1  The  City  Plan  Quarterly,  March,  1915. 


292  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

creation  of  that  part  of  the  Columbia  Highway  running  from 
Portland,  Oregon,  up  the  Columbia  River  for  some  sixty  odd 
miles.  This  road  passes  through  some  of  the  grandest  scenery 
on  the  continent,  winding  about  mountain  spurs  800  ft.  above 
the  river,  again  descending  to  the  river  bank,  passing  at  the 


Fig.  56. — Plan  showing  the  system  of  radial  highways  leading  out  of  Phila- 
delphia. The  dotted  lines  indicate  connections  to  be  supplied  both  inside 
and  without  the  city  limits. 

foot  of  cataracts  hundreds  of  feet  in  height  and  through  tunnels 
with  arched  side  openings  like  those  of  the  famous  Axenstrasse 
along  the  shore  of  Lake  Lucerne.  Snow-capped  mountains 
are  frequently  in  view,  and  everywhere  there  is  a  perfect  road- 
way with  parapet  walls  of  good  design,  ample  lighting  where 
the  curves  are  sharp,  and  the  numerous  ravines  are  spanned  by 
attractive  bridges.     The  unusual  features  of  this  road  are  indi- 


The  Environs  of  the  City  293 

cated  by  the  illustrations  (Pis.  81,82  and  83).    The  entire  road  as 
built  at  the  end  of  1915  is  363  miles  long  and  has  cost  $2,544,000, 
of  which  the  county  in  which  the  city  of  Portland  is  located,  has 
contributed  $1,160,000.     Minneapolis  has  taken  advantage  of 
an  attractive  series   of  lakes,  some  within   and  others  outside 
of  the  city  Hmits,  by  constructing  a  series  of  boulevards  between 
them  and  around  their  shores  which  are  of  great  value  to  the 
people  of  that  city.     Rochester  has  been  pushing  its  tentacles 
out  in  several  directions,  providing  boulevards  and  planning 
the  contiguous  territory.     The  city  boundary  was  until  recently 
some  four  and  one-half  miles  from  Lake  Ontario;  but  following 
the  donation  to  the  city  by  pubUc-spirited  citizens  of  a  park 
of  450    acres  on  the  lake  front  and  the  purchase  by  the  city 
of  an  adjoining  tract  for  sewage-disposal  purposes  these  areas 
have  been  physically  connected  with  the   city  by  annexing  a 
narrow  strip  containing  a  highway  between  them  and  the  city 
Une.     On  January  i,  1906,  the  village  of  Charlotte  on  the  lake 
front  became  a  part  of  the  city  and  was  connected  with  it  by 
means  of  a  boulevard  which  was  annexed  at  the  same  time. 
The  river  itself  has  been  incorporated  within  the  city  limits 
in  order  that  the  former  port  of  Charlotte  might  become  the 
port  of  Rochester,  while  narrow  strips  along  the  river  banks 
have  also  been  added  in  order  to  protect  them  and  make  them 
available  for  park  purposes.     It  is  obvious  to  the  most  limited 
vision  that  the  entire  territory  between  the  present  city  and 
the  lake  front  will  soon  be  incorporated  within  the  city  limits, 
and  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  city  has  not  the  power  to  see 
that  all  of  this  territory  is  so  planned  that  it  will  fit  into  the  plan 
of  the  existing  city,  which,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Fig.  18, 
p.  99,  is  much  better  than  that  of  the  average  town  by  reason 
of  its  well-defined  system  of  traffic  arteries  extending  in  almost 
every  direction. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  time  within  which  some  of 
its  contiguous  areas  will  become  a  part  of  any  city.  There  have 
been  many  instances  of  sensational  growth  in  area  and  popula- 
tion, one  of  the  best  examples  of  which  is  Los  Angeles.    Accord- 


294  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

ing  to  the  Federal  census  the  population  of  this  city  increased 
212  per  cent  during  the  decade  from  1900  to  19 10,  and  a  large 
portion  of  this  increase  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  absorption 
of  adjoining  areas  containing  quite  populous  centers.  That 
this  process  of  absorption  is  still  in  progress  will  be  seen  by 
reference  to  Fig.  4,  p.  65,  and  to  Table  X,  which  shows  the 
successive  additions  to  the  city  since  its  original  incorporation, 
in  1850,  the  date  and  the  area  added  in  each  case  being  given  in 
the  table. 

It  is  stated  that  the  large  San  Fernando  addition,  No.  16, 
was  taken  into  the  city,  not  with  a  view  to  urban  development, 
but  in  order  that  the  city  might  use  its  surplus  water  supply  for 
irrigating  and  bringing  under  cultivation  its  extensive  area, 
which  is  greater  than  all  the  rest  of  the  city  put  together. 

TABLE  X. 

Showing  the  Areas  and  the  Dates  of  the  Several  Additions 

TO  the  City  of  Los  Angeles 
Number  of  Area. 

Additions.  Date.  Acres. 

1  Original  city  incorporated 1850  17,924 

2  1869  766 

3  1895  904 

4  and  5 1896  6,5x7 

6 1899  440 

7 1899  1,134 

8 1906  11,931 

9 1909  6,358 

10 .' 1909  2,948 

II  1909  5,579 

12 1910  2,848 

I3---" 1910  7,112 

14 1912  4,416 

15 1915  4,672 

16 1915  108,732 

17 191S  2,176 

Total 184,457 

Some  of  the  States  have  begun,  and  in  some  cases  have 
already  created,  admirable  systems  of  improved  highways 
which  afford  excellent  connections  between  the  different  towns. 
The  State  of  New  York  is  expending  no  less  than  $100,000,000 
in  perfecting  such  a  system,  the  most  important  links  of  which 


PLATE  80 


o 


PLATE  81 


W 


The  Environs  of  the  City 


295 


are  indicated  by  Fig.  57,  which,  however,  does  not  show  the 
complete  system.  It  will  include  some  exceptionally  fine  and 
impressive  stretches  involving  difficult  and  daring  construction 
comparable  with  that  of  the  Columbia  Highway,  such  as  the 
road  around  Storm  King  Mountain,  high  above  the  level  of  the 


NEW  YORK  STATE  ROADS 

®  Cities  of  more  than  100,000  Pop 
®        •<      "  50,000  to  100,000        " 
O         "       "25,000  "  50,000  " 

•  «       "10,000  "  25,000  " 

•  Towns  of  less  than  10,000        " 


New  York  ( 
6,333,539 


Fig.  57. — An  example  of  a  fairly  complete   system  of  main  roads.     Some  con- 
necting links  are  still  missing  but  will  soon  be  supplied. 

Hudson  River.  Some  of  the  towns  through  which  these  main 
highways  pass  have  failed  to  improve  the  sections  within  their 
corporate  Umits,  and  one  passing  along  them  is  impressed  with 
the  rather  surprising  fact  that  the  only  bad  pieces  of  road  to 
be  found  are  in  villages  or  towns  of  considerable  size,  while  in 
the  rural  districts  the  roads  are  almost  perfect.  The  central 
and  western  states  have  taken  up  this  work  of  creating  com- 


296  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

prehensive  systems  of  highways,  and  in  some  of  them  the 
tendency  to  adopt  the  rectangular  system,  which  has  been  clung 
to  so  tenaciously  by  American  cities,  is  quite  apparent,  an 
instance  being  given  in  one  of  the  county  road  systems  of 


Fig.  58. — A  county  road  system  in  Ohio,  where  the  rectangular  plan  is  nearly 
as  pronounced  as  in  most  American  cities. 

Ohio  (Fig.  5S).  These  improvements  are  altogether  admir- 
able and  are  of  inestimable  value,  and  most  of  them  are  prompted 
by  an  insistent  demand  on  the  part  of  the  pubHc  for  better 
trafi&c  f  aciUties,  a  demand  which  has  become  much  more  impera- 


The  Environs  of  the  City  297 

live  since  the  use  of  the  motor  car  became  general.  One  of  their 
chief  purposes,  however,  is  to  furnish  pleasant  drives  or  to  per- 
mit an  objective  point  to  be  reached  quickly  and  comfortably. 
Many  of  these  highways  have  been  skilfully  located ;  the  amount 
of  detour  justified  to  avoid  excessive  grades  or  to  reach  a  point 
commanding  a  fine  view  has  been  carefully  considered,  though 
seldom  have  those  responsible  for  the  location  and  improvement 
of  these  great  arteries  of  traffic,  and  still  less  frequently  have 
those  using  them  for  business  or  pleasure,  given  any  thought 
to  the  time  when  the  hamlets  through  which  they  pass  will 
become  prosperous  villages  and  the  villages  will  become  cities, 
each  growing  outward  toward  its  neighbors  and  all  finally 
becoming  a  part  of  some  great  metropolitan  district,  where  the 
problems  of  housing,  of  adequate  Hght  and  air  and  of  recrea- 
tion; problems  of  traffic  congestion,  of  transportation  and  of 
restrictions  upon  the  use  of  property  will  become  as  acute  as 
they  now  are  in  the  great  city  to  which  they  are  tributary. 
Some  of  these  problems,  in  fact,  are  already  present.  The 
slum  is  not  confined  to  the  large  city;  some  of  the  worst  and 
most  insanitary  and  debasing  conditions  are  to  be  found  in 
small  towns  forming  the  fringe  about  a  great  city,  but  beyond 
its  jurisdiction,  while  they  are  not  infrequently  met  with  in 
small  villages  in  the  rural  districts.  It  has  often  been  pointed 
out  that  congestion  of  population  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the 
number  of  people  to  the  acre  or  to  the  city  block,  but  by  the 
number  of  people  to  the  room. 

There  is  need  for  real  constructive  planning  of  the  environs 
of  every  city  and  town;  not  the  subdivision  into  city  lots  and 
blocks  of  the  entire  territory  round  about,  which  would  be  a 
distinct  misfortune,  but  the  estabHshment  of  lines  of  direct  and 
easy  communication  between  centers,  however  unimportant 
they  may  be  at  the  time.  Future  growth  will  be  from  these 
centers  outward,  and  is  it  visionary  or  extravagant  to  urge  that 
every  one  of  these  small  centers  should  be  connected  with  neigh- 
boring communities  by  roads  which  may,  if  necessary,  become 
part  of  the  highway  system  of  a  great  urban  district?     The 


298  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

sort  of  control  which  is  needed  to  insure  intelligent  planning  of 
this  kind  cannot  be  exercised  by  the  cities;  it  must  be  under- 
taken by  the  state,  either  through  the  medium  of  state  laws  or 
by  the  creation  of  metropolitan  planning  boards  or  commissions 
whose  jurisdiction  shall  extend  over  large  areas,  including  a 
group  of  populous  communities  and  the  intervening  districts, 
or  by  means  of  such  bodies  as  the  Homestead  Commission  of 
Massachusetts,  the  reports  of  which  have  been  valuable  contri- 
butions to  city  planning  literature.  It  may  be  that  the  state 
cannot  delegate  to  such  commissions  functions  which  are  of  a 
legislative  or  quasi-legislative  character,  such  as  the  imposition 
of  restrictions  upon  the  use  of  property.  The  state  can, 
however,  establish  minimum  widths  of  roads  of  certain  classes, 
and  it  probably  can  prescribe  building  lines  a  certain  distance 
back  of  the  highway  lines  and  decree  that,  if  any  buildings  are 
erected  outside  of  these  lines,  no  damages  may  be  claimed  by 
the  owners  in  case  the  strip  of  land  intervening  between  the 
highway  line  and  the  building  line  is  required  in  order  to  widen 
the  road.  State  institutions — educational,  charitable  or  penal, 
occupy  large  groups  of  buildings  covering  extensive  tracts  of 
land.  These  have  been  set  down  wherever  the  officials  having 
jurisdiction  at  the  time  thought  it  advisable  to  locate  them  or 
on  lands  which  could  be  most  readily  secured  for  the  purpose 
at  the  moment.  Little  serious  study  appears  to  have  been  given 
to  their  location,  especially  their  location  with  respect  to  each 
other  and,  while  it  may  seem  a  far  cry  from  the  location  of  the 
public  buildings  of  a  city  or  their  grouping  to  form  a  civic  center 
to  the  selection  of  sites  for  public  institutions  scattered  over  an 
entire  state,  the  latter  problem  is  not  unworthy  of  careful 
study,  which  would  doubtless  result  in  the  exercise  of  better 
judgment  than  has  been  shown  in  such  cases  in  the  past. 


PLATE  82 


PLATE  83 


u 


CHAPTER  XVI 
GARDEN   CITIES 

THE  origin  of  what  is  called  the  garden-city  movement  is 
commonly  attributed  to  the  pubhcation  in  England,  in 
1899,  of  a  book  by  Mr.  Ebenezer  Howard  on  "  Garden  Cities 
of  To-morrow,"  which  appears  to  have  been  prompted  by  dis- 
cussions in  England  and  other  countries  of  the  seriousness  of 
the  problems  presented  by  the  rush  of  population  to  the  cities 
and  the  depletion  of  the  country  districts.  Mr.  Howard 
described  a  fanciful  garden  city  laid  out  on  a  tract  of  some 
6000  acres  of  agricultural  land  worth  about  $200  an  acre.  At 
its  center  he  proposed  a  circular  garden  covering  about  five 
acres  and  fronting  on  this  garden  a  group  of  public  buildings, 
such  as  the  town  hall,  library,  museum,  theatre,  concert  hall  and 
hospital.  Outside  of  this  he  proposed  a  zone  of  park  and 
recreation  fields  covering  about  145  acres,  and  encircling  this 
what  he  called  a  "  crystal  palace,"  which  was  simply  a  ring 
of  glass  arcades  broken  only  by  the  radiating  streets,  these 
arcades  being  used  for  the  display  of  goods  and  for  leisurely 
shopping,  while  their  protection  from  the  weather  would  afford 
a  ready  refuge  for  those  using  the  park  and  recreation  ground 
in  case  of  storm.  Beyond  this  arcade  he  suggested  five  circular 
roadways  upon  which  residences  would  be  located,  the  central 
of  the  five  having  the  extraordinary  width  of  420  feet,  and 
outside  of  this  residential  zone  he  proposed  to  place  the  fac- 
tories, warehouses,  dairies  and  farms  with  a  railroad  encircling 
the  town  and  connecting  with  the  tracks  of  a  trunk  line.  Six 
radiating  streets  were  to  lead  directly  from  the  central  garden 
to  the  outer  limits  of  the  proposed  town,  each  of  them  120  ft. 
in  width.     This  town  was  designed  to  accommodate  30,000 

299 


300  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

people.  Mr.  Howard  urged  that,  while  there  always  must  be 
some  main  center  of  population,  efforts  should  be  made  to  keep 
this  center  down  to  60,000  or  less,  and  that  as  the  number  of 
people  in  the  urban  district  grows  that  growth  should  be  from 
new  subordinate  centers,  all  of  which  should  be  restricted 
if  possible  to  about  30,000,  each  connected  by  an  adequate 
radial  railway  with  an  encircHng  railroad  around  the  main 
town  and  another  connecting  the  inner  edges  of  the  subordinate 
centers  or  those  nearest  the  main  center. 

The  "  back  to  the  land  "  cry  is  not  new.  In  1891,  Sir  John 
Gorst  in  a  letter  pubHshed  in  a  London  newspaper  stated  that 
in  order  to  check  the  evils  incident  to  the  enormous  growth 
of  cities  it  would  be  necessary  to  "  back  the  tide  and  stop  the 
migration  of  the  people  into  the  towns  and  get  the  people  back 
to  the  land."  To  one  famiHar  with  the  pecuHar  beauty  and 
charm  of  the  EngHsh  country  side  and  with  the  love  of  country 
life  which  has  always  been  shown  by  the  leisure  class  in  England, 
it  would  seem  that  of  all  countries  in  the  world  England  would 
be  less  troubled  than  others  by  the  mad  rush  of  her  people  to 
the  cities,  and  yet  in  no  country  has  there  been  so  much  dis- 
cussion of  the  unfortunate  results  of  this  drift  to  the  large  towns. 

Mr.  Howard's  book  aroused  great  interest  in  England,  and 
in  1903  an  estate  of  some  3800  acres  was  purchased  in  Hert- 
fordshire and  the  "  First  Garden  City  Company  "  estabHshed 
upon  it  the  town  of  Letchworth,  which  was  laid  out  in  accord- 
ance with  plans  prepared  by  Messrs.  Barry  Parker  and  Ray- 
mond Unwin.  This  was  a  complete  town  with  industrial, 
business  and  residential  districts,  and  is  to-day  a  self-contained 
city  of  8200  inhabitants. 

But  examples  of  the  type  of  development  which  we  call  the 
garden  city  were  to  be  found  long  before  Mr.  Howard  wrote 
his  book:  at  least  their  prototype  antedates  the  pubhcation  of 
that  book  by  more  than  a  generation.  Workingmen's  colonies, 
which  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  the  real  parents  of  garden 
cities,  were  established  by  the  Krupps  at  Essen  as  early  as  1856, 
but  they  bear  little  or  no  resemblance  to  the  colonies  lately 


Garden  Cities  301 


built  by  this  company  which,  while  located,  many  of  them, 
in  the  heart  of  busy  industrial  cities,  are  admirable  examples 
of  garden  city  planning.  The  streets  generally  are  laid  out  with 
the  studied  irregularity  so  distinctive  of  German  city  planning, 
while  trees,  shrubbery  and  open  spaces  and  occasional  statues 
and  fountains  make  some  charming  street  pictures.  The 
individual  homes  are  exceptionally  attractive,  notably  at  Mar- 
garethenhof,  which  is  a  residential  colony  for  the  officers  and  the 
principal  employees  of  the  company,  and  at  Alfredshof,  which 
is  exclusively  devoted  to  houses  for  superannuated  employees, 
a  cozy  home  being  provided  rent  free  for  each  aged  couple.  The 
general  plans  of  several  of  these  colonies  and  views  of  houses  are 
shown  by  the  illustrations  on  Pis.  52  to  55  inclusive. 

In  1869,  the  late  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  of  New  York, 
established  a  town  on  Long  Island  about  twenty  miles  from  what 
was  then  New  York  City,  which  he  named  and  which  is  still 
called  "  Garden  City."  It  was  exclusively  a  residential  town 
and  was  laid  out  about  a  central  park  well  planted  with  trees 
and  shrubbery  in  which  was  located  the  railway  station  and  a 
casino  or  club  house.  The  streets  were  broad  and  the  plan  was 
rigidly  rectangular;  it  was  a  community  of  tenants  only,  the 
founder  and,  after  his  death,  his  estate,  retaining  complete 
ownership  of  all  the  lands  and  buildings.  The  plan  originally 
included  some  homes  for  workingmen  which  were  little  more 
than  wooden  barracks  of  the  most  unattractive  sort.  These 
have  fortunately  disappeared,  and  where  they  stood  is  now  the 
remarkable  plant  of  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company,  publishers 
of  periodicals  and  books,  most  of  which  relate  to  country  life 
and  in  the  pages  of  which  are  to  be  found  some  excellent 
city  planning  literature  (PL  84).  Since  1895,  the  owners 
of  the  Garden  City  property  have  offered  residence  plots  and 
houses  for  sale,  while  contiguous  to  it  there  have  been  several 
developments  of  a  similar  kind  by  other  owners.  The  rec- 
tangular plan  was  adhered  to  in  the  latter  developments  except 
in  the  most  recent,  where  an  agreeable  variation  was  made  by 
the  introduction  of  a  few  curved  streets  and  diagonals  in  accord- 


302  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

ance  with  a  design  by  Mr.  Charles  W.  Leavitt.  The  original 
Garden  City  and  the  more  recent  additions  still  retain  their 
character  as  residential  communities  of  New  York  commuters, 
and  have  none  of  the  copartnership  or  paternal  characteristics 
of  the  garden  cities  of  Europe. 

The  first  garden  city  in  Germany  was  established  at  Hellerau, 
a  suburb  of  Dresden,  in  1909,  by  a  private  individual  and  covers 
345  acres.  The  cottages  were  erected  by  a  cooperative  building 
society  and  are  rented  to  members  only  at  from  $62  to  $150  a 
year.  These  cottages  contain  water,  gas  and  electric  Hght  and 
complete  equipment  for  heating,,  cooking  and  laundry.  In  a 
part  of  the  development  more  pretentious  houses  are  built  to 
rent  at  from  $200  to  $500  a  year.  To  become  a  member  of  the 
cooperative  society,  stock  of  a  minimum  amount  of  $47.60 
must  be  taken.  One  of  the  promoters  of  the  German  garden 
cities  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Howe  as  protesting  that  a  garden  city 
or  suburb  is  not  simply  a  pleasant  town  or  suburb  with  a  few 
gardens  within  its  limits,  nor  should  it  be  confused  with  the 
colonies  or  villas  to  which  land  speculators  apply  the  name 
"  garden  city  "  in  order  to  advertise  purely  commercial  enter- 
prises.^ His  definition  is  this :  "  A  garden  city  is  a  symmetrically 
planned  settlement  on  suitable  land  which  will  be  in  the  perma- 
nent possession,  in  the  last  resort,  of  the  community  (estate, 
society,  etc.),  in  such  a  manner  that  land  speculation  will  be 
altogether  prevented  and  the  increment  in  value  assured  to  the 
community  (even  to  those  of  slender  means)  and  shall  make  it 
a  garden  city." 

But  to  return  to  England,  with  which  country  the  garden 
city  appears  to  be  most  closely  associated:  the  case  of  Letch- 
worth  led  to  a  number  of  other  developments  along  somewhat 
similar  Unes.  The  increased  efficiency  of  workmen  resulting 
from  better  housing  and  healthier  surroundings  was  a  sufficient 
reason,  although  there  doubtless  were  less  selfish  ones,  to  induce 
Sir  William  Lever  to  establish  Port  Sunlight  and  Mr.  George 
Cadbury  to  develop  Bourneville  in  order  to  give  their  employees 
^  "  European  Cities  at  Work,"  by  Frederic  C.  Howe,  page  173. 


Garden  Cities  303 


the  advantages  of  better  living  conditions.  These  are  really- 
private  industrial  organizations,  as  much  a  part  of  the  Lever 
and  Cadbury  plants  as  are  their  soap  and  chocolate  factories, 
and  they  are  exceedingly  well  managed;  but  complete  control 
must  obviously  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  respective  companies. 
It  is  said  that  the  towns  are  actually  run  at  a  financial  loss, 
but  that  such  loss  is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  greater 
efficiency  of  the  employees.  The  American  workingman  and 
woman  would  doubtless  prefer  to  attain  such  increased  efficiency 
through  better  pay,  which  would  permit  them  to  provide  better 
living  conditions  for  themselves,  rather  than  secure  them  through 
what  might  be  called  a  charity.  Not  only  have  the  manufac- 
turers who  are  interested  in  securing  a  larger  output  from  their 
employees  adopted  the  policy  of  giving  more  than  is  repre- 
sented by  the  rentals  paid,  but  some  cities  have  followed  the 
same  policy  in  order  to  improve  living  conditions.  Liverpool, 
for  instance,  in  trying  to  get  rid  of  some  of  its  slums  has  built 
model  tenements  to  replace  them  which  are  rented  for  less  than 
the  actual  fixed  charges  and  maintenance  expenses,  the  loss  to 
the  city  being,  it  is  said,  some  $30,000  annually. 

While  many  if  not  most  of  the  British  garden  cities  have  been 
created  for  the  chief  purpose  of  improving  the  living  conditions 
of  the  poorer  classes,  there  are  others  which,  by  the  adoption 
of  the  copartnership  plan,  have  provided  attractive  homes  for 
those  who  could  afford  to  pay  for  such  homes  if  they  knew 
where  to  find  them  in  surroundings  to  their  Hking.  At  Hamp- 
stead,  for  instance,  which  is  well  within  the  London  Metro- 
poUtan  District,  is  a  development  which  is  designed  to  meet 
the  needs  not  only  of  the  mechanic  and  general  laborer,  but  of 
those  in  very  comfortable  circumstances.  In  fact,  some  of  the 
advocates  of  garden  cities  urge  that  the  mingling  of  homes 
of  different  cost  and  occupied  by  people  of  different  classes  and 
of  varied  means  is  calculated  to  break  down  the  barriers  be- 
tween classes,  or  at  least  to  bring  about  a  more  kindly  feeling 
between  them.  The  original  development  at  the  Hampstead 
Garden  Suburb  covered  about  3  20  acres.     An  option  on  80  acres 


304  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

for  open  spaces  was  availed  of  by  the  London  County  Council; 
the  remaining  240  acres  were  taken  by  the  Hampstead  Garden 
Suburb  Trust  with  the  understanding  that  not  more  than  an 
average  of  eight  houses  were  to  be  built  to  the  acre.  This 
would  mean  an  average  plot  equal  to  54I  ft.  by  100  ft.,  or  a  plot 
about  74  ft.  square  for  each  house.  Some  of  them  are  rented 
to  working  people  for  as  little  as  $1.50  a  week ;  others  are  planned 
to  rent  for  from  $150  to  $250  a  year;  still  others  are  consider- 
ably larger  with  correspondingly  greater  rentals.  While  a 
number  of  the  EngHsh  garden  cities  have  been  developed  by 
cooperative  societies  with  a  view  to  housing  their  members, 
Mr.  Unwin  has  pointed  out  that  cooperation  is  too  often  associ- 
ated only  with  the  purchase  of  the  estate  and  the  development 
has  been  carried  out  very  much  on  the  old  lines  without  full 
realization  of  the  opportunities  offered  by  real  cooperation. 
In  the  case  of  Cooperative  Tenants'  Societies  the  roads  have 
been  built  and  the  land  has  been  laid  out  by  the  parent  bodies 
and  sites  have  been  developed  cooperatively  by  the  societies 
themselves. 

The  growth  of  the  garden  city  movement  in  Great  Britain 
is  well  shown  by  information  contained  in  a  booklet  by  Mr. 
E.  G.  Culpin,  Secretary  to  the  Garden  Cities  and  Town  Planning 
Association,  pubhshed  in  1914.  He  gives  a  Hst  of  58  estates 
and  societies  concerning  which  particulars  are  available.  The 
area  of  a  few  of  these,  with  the  dates  when  operations  began, 
the  number  of  houses  already  built,  the  maximum  number  of 
houses  allowed  per  acre,  and  the  minimum  and  maximum  rents 
are  indicated  in  Table  XL 

In  addition  to  the  developments  included  in  the  table,  a  few 
instances  will  be  given  showing  the  rapidity  with  which  such 
enterprises  are  frequently  carried  out.  Alkrington  Estates 
includes  about  700  acres  developed  on  the  basis  of  12  houses 
to  the  acre,  with  ample  provision  for  recreation  grounds  and 
other  open  spaces.  The  first  house  in  this  development  was 
occcupied  in  July,  191 1,  since  which  time  the  improvement 
of   the   roads   and    the  erection   of    additional    buildings  has 


Garden  Cities 


305 


steadily  progressed.  Knebworth  Estate  covers  an  area  of 
about  800  acres  and  is  being  developed  on  a  basis  of  about 
8  houses  to  the  acre.  The  total  number  of  buildings  which 
it  is  proposed  to  erect  is  about  6400,  of  which  250  have  already 
been  built  (PI.  85).  Woodlands  Mining  Village  was  com- 
menced in  June,  1907,  for  the  purpose  of  housing  the  workers 
of  the  Brodsworth  Main  Colliery.  It  was  designed  to  accom- 
modate 653  houses,  all  of  which  have  already  been  erected. 
Although  these  houses  are  modest  homes  for  workmen,  costing 
from  $780  to  $1060  to  build,  the  plan  is  a  very  attractive  one 
and  includes  a  main  avenue  120  ft.  in  width  with  four  rows  of 
shade  trees. 

TABLE   XI 

Statistics  Concerning  a  few  of  the  English  Garden  Cities  as  Compiled  by 
Mr.  E.  G.  Culpin,  in  1913 


Name  of 
Development. 


Total 
Area. 

Area 
Devel- 

Begun. 

No.  of 
Houses 

Popu- 

Max. 
No.  OF 
Houses 

Acres. 

ACRES, 

Built. 

lation. 

PER 

Acre. 

609 

138 

1879 

920 

4390 

6 

63 

40 

1901 

Sio 

2000 

12 

652 

180 

1907 

isso 

5000 

8 

4566 

800 

1903 

1876 

8200 

12 

223 

135 

189s 

823 

3600 

10 

127 

127 

1907 

653 

3600 

5 

39 

39 

190S 

322 

1600 

12 

S2.S 

17-5 

1907 

156 

750 

14 

Max. 

AND 

Min. 
Annual 
Rents. 


Bourneville 

Ealing 

Hampstead  Garden 

Suburb 

Letchworth 

Port  Sunlight 

Woodlands 

Garden  City  Tenants 
Oldham  Garden 

Suburb 


S65-S150 

S84-I280 

S7S-SS3S 
S55-SS85 

168 
$68-587 
Ss8-$296 

J77-$i46 


The  society  of  which  Mr.  Culpin  is  the  secretary  is  apparently 
engaged  in  propaganda  work,  not  only  in  Great  Britain  but  in 
other  countries,  and  the  booklet  above  referred  to  contains 
reports  of  the  progress  of  this  movement  in  countries  outside 
of  Great  Britain;  but  thus  far  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
taken  up  seriously  in  any  of  the  other  countries  except  Germany. 

Cooperative  and  Copartnership  Housing  Societies  have 
made  remarkable  progress  in  England.  The  "  Tenant  Co- 
operators,  Ltd.,"  was  founded  in  1888  and  the  rules  then  put 
forward  have  been  in  operation  without  substantial  change 
until  the  present  time  and  have  formed  the  basis  of  all  the 
tenant    societies    since    established.     Tenants    became    share- 


306  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


holders  by  the  holding  of  a  single  one-pound  share  which  en- 
titles them  to  vote  equally  with  any  other  shareholders  irre- 
spective of  the  number  of  shares  held.  In  other  societies  the 
holdings  of  the  tenants  are  usually  much  larger,  and  recently 
their  voting  power  has  been  either  restricted  or  removed.  The 
net  profits  realized  by  the  "  Tenant  Cooperators,  Ltd.,"  for 
twenty-five  years,  after  paying  all  expenses,  depreciation 
and  interest  upon  loans,  deposits  and  loan  stock,  has  averaged 
6.7  per  cent  upon  the  amount  of  share  capital,  while  in  191 2  it 
was  8.3  per  cent.  Interest  upon  share  capital  is  as  a  rule  limited 
to  4  per  cent.,  the  surplus  profits  being  distributed  in  dividends 
to  tenants  which  have  reached  as  high  as  12.5  per  cent. 

The  "  Copartnership  Tenants,  Ltd.,"  had  its  beginning  in 
1901  and  some  fourteen  different  societies  are  afl&Hated  with  the 
parent  organization.  In  1904,  the  cost  value  of  their  land  and 
buildings  was  slightly  over  $86,000,  while  in  19 14  it  was  about 
$6,250,000,  while,  if  we  include  the  estimated  value  of  the  houses 
when  the  estates  now  being  developed  are  completed,  it  would 
be  over  $17,000,000.  It  is  said  that  eight  of  the  copartnership 
estates  in  the  federation  which  have  practically  completed  their 
building  operations  and  have  property  to  the  value  of  nearly 
$4,000,000  not  only  have  no  dwelHng  of  any  kind  to  let,  but 
have  waiting  lists  of  applicants. 

While  garden  cities  appear  to  be  very  popular  at  the  present 
time  in  Great  Britain,  there  have  been  from  time  to  time  caustic 
criticism  and  vigorous  defence  of  the  garden-city  movement, 
especially  in  the  pages  of  the  Town  Planning  Review}  It  has 
been  argued  that  in  towns  we  find  crowded  streets,  contiguous 
buildings,  stately  squares  and  long  facades,  and  that  human 
society  likes  them;  that  the  people  have  left  nature  to  con- 
gregate in  cities,  and  that  they  appear  to  wish  to  stay  away  from 
nature.  Mr.  Edwards  points  out  the  absurdity  of  adopting 
a  picturesque  style,  of  architecture  for  houses  in  garden  cities, 
which  often  necessitates  some  of  the  worst  and  most  insanitary 

1  See  especially  the  articles  by  Mr.  A.  T.  Edwards  and  Mr.  Charles  C.  Reade 
in  Vol.  IV  of  the  Town  Planning  Review,  pages  150,  245  and  312. 


Garden  Cities  307 


features  of  medieval  buildings— the  upper  floors  in  the  sloping 
roofs  with  low  ceilings  and  dormer  windows  that  admit  very 
little  light.  The  external  effect  may  be  picturesque,  but  such 
houses  can  hardly  be  considered  good  examples  of  twentieth- 
century  building.  "  Of  what  value,"  asks  the  critic,  "  is  it  to 
have  an  abundance  of  fresh  air  outside  if  our  romanticists 
forbid  us  to  breathe  it?  "  Even  in  garden  suburbs  it  is  said 
that  one  often  sees  a  house  having  a  whole  wall  surface  devoid 
of  windows.  He  further  notes  that  when  attractive  work- 
men's cottages  are  built  on  the  edge  of  an  industrial  district 
they  frequently  go  untenanted,  while  a  vacant  house  in  the 
center  of  the  town,  even  of  poor  quality,  will  be  immediately 
taken;  and  he  asks  whether  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon  "  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  ordinary  man  likes  the  com- 
pany of  his  fellows  and  wishes  to  be  in  the  very  hub  of  things." 
The  garden  suburb  is  alleged  to  have  "  neither  the  crowded 
interest  of  the  town  nor  the  quiet  charm  of  the  country.  It 
gives  us  the  advantages  neither  of  solitude  nor  of  society.  .  .  . 
The  workingman  does  not  want  to  traverse  long  distances  to 
see  his  friends  after  his  day's  work  is  done." 

In  reply  to  these  criticisms  reference  is  made  to  the  vital 
statistics  of  a  number  of  communities,  from  which  it  appeared 
that  in  "  Letchworth  the  ordinary  death  rate  per  looo  was 
6.1  and  the  infant  mortality,  50.6;  in  Hampstead,  9.8  and  62.0, 
respectively,  while  in  the  Metropolitan  borough  of  Shoreditch 
they  were  18. i  and  123.0;  in  the  borough  of  Poplar,  16.4  and  107.0, 
and  in  the  City  of  Liverpool,  18. i  and  125.0.  It  is  maintained 
that  these  statistics  alone  have  justified  the  garden  city.  The 
annual  report  of  the  medical  health  officer  for  the  district  in 
which  Letchworth  is  situated,  contains  the  following  statement: 

"  The  number  of  children  coming  from  large,  populous  towns 
were  anemic,  poor  of  physique,  and  large  numbers  were  suffer- 
ing from  adenoid  growths  and  throat  affections.  This  state 
of  things  is  fast  disappearing  with  the  new  conditions  under 
which  they  live."  These  statistics  appear  to  justify  the  con- 
clusion that  sanitary  housing  has  not  been  sacrificed  to  secure 


308  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

picturesque  effect,  and  it  is  claimed  that  ventilation  is  one  of 
the  primary  considerations  in  designing  garden  city  cottages, 
and  that  an  effort  is  made  to  give  every  window  in  every  house 
at  least  60  degrees  of  light.  It  is  also  pointed  out  that  the 
modern  designs  for  garden  city  cottages  were  arrived  at  only 
after  many  architects  had  competed  in  two  separate  cottage 
exhibitions  in  1905  and  1907,  held  especially  for  the  purpose. 
The  charge  that  "  in  a  garden  city  the  garden  comes  first  and 
the  city  comes  afterwards,"  is  strongly  resented,  and  it  is 
maintained  that  they  both  come  together  in  proper  proportion 
and  relation  to  one  another. 

As  to  the  vital  statistics,  the  critic  says  that  the  want  of  food 
is  just  as  likely  to  cause  premature  death  as  is  the  want  of  air, 
and  expresses  the  belief  that  the  inhabitants  of  Hampstead  and 
Letch  worth  are  obviously  of  the  middle  class,  who  "  eat  their 
four  meals  a  day  with  perfect  regularity,"  but  that  there  are 
thousands  of  people  in  the  metropolitan  boroughs  who  are  just 
as  healthy  as  they  when  they  have  enough  to  eat.  The  opponent 
of  the  garden  city  urges  that:  "  A  well-arranged  town,  smokeless 
and  quiet,  with  its  traffic  under  good  control,  having  houses 
and  streets  in  close  formation;  a  town  which  has  a  sufficiency 
of  parks,  squares  and  other  public  places,  but  yet  contains  con- 
siderable population  in  a  relatively  small  area;  a  compact  town 
with  a  Hmited  number  of  fairly  large  detached  houses  just  out- 
side of  it,  immediately  beyond  which  there  is  nature  undefiled: 
this  is  an  ideal  which  seems  more  attractive  than  the  monotonous 
diffuseness  of  garden  cities." 

The  tendency  to  make  garden  cities  look  like  medieval 
towns  has  doubtless  subjected  them  to  deserved  criticism.  It 
is  fooh'sh  to  make  a  modern  town  in  which  people  are  living  and 
doing  business  in  twentieth-century  fashion  look  like  a  medieval 
Gothic  town  with  all  its  picturesque  inconvenience.  The 
houses  so  designed  may  be  called  dishonest  in  that  they  would 
give  the  impression  that  the  people  in  them  are  fiving  in  a 
manner  entirely  different  from  the  way  in  which  they  actually 
do  five. 


Garden  Cities  309 


In  the  United  States  the  strong  development  of  individualism 
makes  collective  planning  difficult,  and  that  may  be  the  reason 
why  relatively  few  garden  cities  have  been  established  in  this 
country.  If  each  individual  owner  may  build  as  he  likes  and 
maintain  his  home  without  regard  for  his  neighbor's  it  is  obvious 
that  it  will  be  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  plan 
and  carry  out  the  development  as  a  whole,  including  the 
street  system,  the  public  and  semi-public  buildings  and  the 
recreation  grounds,  the  planning  all  so  arranged  that  each 
owner  may  get  the  greatest  benefit  from  it.  It  is  claimed  that 
if  the  general  planner  and  the  architect  work  together  the  result 
is  likely  to  be  much  more  effective,  but  this,  of  course,  cannot 
be  done  unless  there  is  some  central  authority  which  shall 
exercise  a  certain  degree  of  control  over  the  arrangement  and 
design  of  each  house.  Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  instance 
of  garden  city  development  in  the  United  States  is  that  at  Forest 
Hills  Gardens,  located  very  near  the  business  center  of  New 
York  City  and  within  about  fourteen  minutes  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  Terminal  (Fig.  59).  A  portion  of  the  tract 
is  wooded  and  it  is  very  near  one  of  the  large  forest  parks  of  the 
city.  It  was  established  by  the  Sage  Foundation  Homes  Com- 
pany and,  in  speaking  of  the  considerations  which  prompted 
Mrs.  Russell  Sage  and  her  advisers  to  undertake  the  develop- 
ment, Mr.  Robert  W.  DeForest,  President  of  the  Company, 
says: 

"  They  have  thought  that  homes  could  be  supplied  like  those 
in  the  garden  cities  of  England,  with  some  greenery  and  flowers 
around  them,  with  accessible  playgrounds  and  recreation  facili- 
ties, and  at  no  appreciably  greater  cost  than  is  now  paid  for  the 
same  roof  room  in  bare  streets  without  any  such  adjacency. 
They  have  abhorred  the  constant  repetition  of  the  rectangular 
block  in  suburban  localities  where  land  contours  invite  other 
street  lines.  They  have  thought,  too,  that  buildings  of  tasteful 
design,  constructed  of  brick,  cement  or  other  permanent  material, 
even  though  of  somewhat  greater  initial  cost,  were  really  more 
economical  in  their  durability  and  lesser  repair  bills  than  the 


310 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


Fig.   59.— General    plan  of  Forest    HiUs  Gardens,  showing  buildings  erected. 
Reproduced  from  the  progress  map  of  the  Sage  Foundation  Homes  Co. 


PLATE  84 


The  magazine  and  book  publishing  plant  of  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.  at 
Garden  City,  N.  Y.  General  view  and  detail  of  the  entrance.  Reproduced  from 
photographs  kindly  furnished  by  the  owners  (p.  301). 


PLATE  85 


Plans  of  two  typical  English  garden  cities.  Above,  Alkrington  Estate;^  below, 
Knebworth  Estate.  Reproduced  by  kind  permission  of  Mr.  E.  G.  Culpin  from 
"  Garden  Cities  up  to  Date  "  (p.  305). 


Garden  Cities  311 


repulsive,  cheaply  built  structures  which  are  too  often  the  type 
of  New  York's  outlying  districts.  They  have  hoped  that  people 
of  moderate  income  and  good  taste,  who  appreciate  sympathetic 
surroundings,  but  are  tied  close  to  the  city  by  the  nature  of 
their  occupation,  might  find  some  country  air  and  country 
life  within  striking  distance  of  the  active  centers  of  New  York. 

"  If  these  expectations  can  be  reahzed  at  Forest  Hills  Gar- 
dens, the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  will  accompHsh  several 
objects:  It  will  provide  more  healthful  and  more  attractive 
homes  to  many  people.  It  will  demonstrate  that  more  tasteful 
surroundings  and  open  spaces  pay  in  suburban  development, 
and  thereby  encourage  imitation.  It  will  encourage  more 
economical  methods  of  marketing  land. 

"  No  initial  outlay  has  been  spared  on  roads,  water  supply, 
sewers  and  other  features  which  make  Uttle  show  above  ground 
but  are  fundamental  to  the  permanence  of  a  healthy  and  attrac- 
tive residence  district.  Careful  and  comprehensive  initial 
layout;  attractive,  substantial,  durable  building;  experienced 
management  are  the  keynotes  of  the  enterprise. 

"  Some  people  may  ask  why  the  first  housing  plan  of  the  Sage 
Foundation  does  not  provide  for  the  laboring  man,  whose  wages 
are  small.  The  Sage  Foundation  has  not  forgotten  the  laboring 
man;  it  may  be  ready  to  announce  something  for  his  benefit 
later  on;  but  the  cost  of  the  land  at  Forest  Hills  Gardens,  and 
the  character  of  its  surroundings,  preclude  provision  there  for 
the  day  laborer." 

Concerning  the  general  street  plan  which  was  adopted,  Mr. 
Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  the  landscape  architect,  writes: 

"  A  principle  which  has  been  too  generally  ignored  in 
American  street  layouts,  is  that  those  streets  which  are  not 
needed  as  thoroughfares  should  be  planned  and  constructed  to 
meet  the  purpose  of  quiet,  attractive  residence  streets  in  the  best 
possible  manner.  To  this  end  the  local  streets  at  Forest 
Hills  Gardens  are  laid  out  so  as  to  discourage  their  use  as  thor- 
oughfares. While  not  fantastically  crooked,  they  are  never 
perfectly  straight  for  long  stretches;    and  their  roadways,  well 


312  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

paved  with  bituminous  macadam,  are  made  narrow,  thus  per- 
mitting additional  space  to  be  devoted  to  the  planting  spaces 
and  the  front  gardens,  which  will  be  one  of  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  whole  development.  Probably  one  of  the  most 
notable  characteristics  of  Forest  Hills  Gardens  will  be  the 
cozy,  domestic  character  of  these  local  streets,  where  the  monot- 
ony of  endless  straight,  wind-swept  thoroughfares  which  repre- 
sent the  New  York  conception  of  streets  will  give  place  to  short, 
quiet,  self-contained  and  garden-Hke  neighborhoods,  each  having 
its  own  distinctive  character." 

Mr.  Grosvenor  Atterbury,  as  the  architect,  has  produced  a 
very  interesting  lot  of  dwellings,  the  monotony  which  might 
result  from  the  use  of  a  limited  variety  of  building  materials 
being  compensated  for  through  the  ingenious  variety  in  design. 
The  illustrations  on  PL  86  show  the  treatment  of  the  open 
space  at  the  station  and  some  of  the  buildings  which  have  been 
erected,  while  other  details  are  shown  on  PL  67. 

If  it  was  expected  by  its  promoters  and  by  the  general 
public  that  Forest  Hills  Gardens  would  be  a  place  where,  not  the 
workingman,  but  those  of  modest  means  with  an  income  say  of 
$2000  or  $3000  a  year  could  find  homes,  it  must  have  been 
a  disappointment.  The  land  was  too  expensive  for  such  a 
development  and,  the  building  construction  being  of  the  highest 
class,  only  fireproof  materials  being  used,  the  cost  of  the  houses 
was  high.  Fronting  on  the  central  or  station  place  is  an  excellent 
hotel  accommodating  from  150  to  200  people  and,  while  the 
prices  are  moderate  it  does  not  afford  cheap  living.  One  thing 
Forest  Hills  Gardens  has  done.  It  has  afforded  a  much-needed 
object  lesson  in  its  agreeable  relief  from  the  rigid  rectangular 
street  systems  which  so  generally  prevail  in  American  cities. 

A  development  of  an  entirely  different  kind  is  the  Billerica 
Garden  Suburb  designed  by  Mr.  Arthur  C.  Comey,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts  (PL  87).  In  describing  this  develop- 
ment Mr.  Comey  says  that  it  is  the  first  example  in  this 
country  of  the  improved  methods  of  housing  for  workingmen 
which  have  proved  so  successful  in  England,  and  is  the    first 


Garden  Cities  313 


concrete  application  of  the  principles  laid  down  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Homestead  Commission  in  its  report  made  in  Novem- 
ber, 1913.  This  suburb  is  located  at  North  Billerica,  21  miles 
from  Boston,  on  the  line  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railway, 
which  company  has  here  established  its  repair  shops  which  were 
opened  in  February,  1914,  with  1200  operatives  with  a  prospect 
of  2000  to  3000.  This  enterprise  created  a  great  demand  for 
workingmen's  houses  in  a  community  which  was  formerly  rural, 
while  other  manufacturers  are  locating  in  the  vicinity  in  order 
to  utilize  the  supply  of  labor.  It  is  said  that  nowhere  else  in 
the  United  States  have  the  five  essential  elements — site  planning, 
limited  number  of  houses  per  acre,  wholesale  operations,  limited 
dividends,  and  participation  by  the  residents — been  combined  in 
an  undertaking  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  workingman 
earning  $12  to  $20  per  week.  The  tract  developed  covers  54. 
acres  adjoining  the  North  Billerica  station  and  the  former 
village  center,  where  schools  and  other  public  buildings  make 
immediate  development  possible.  It  is  less  than  a  mile  from 
the  new  shops  and  a  free  workingmen's  train  carries  the  men 
directly  from  the  station  to  the  works.  The  plan  which  was  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  Comey  provides  for  an  average  of  five  to  six  fami- 
lies per  gross  acre.  Dividends  are  Kmited  to  five  per  cent 
cumulative  and  each  resident  must  be  a  shareholder.  A  portion 
of  the  tract  will  be  turned  over  to  a  copartnership  society  for 
development  by  it  in  the  method  so  frequently  followed  in  Great 
Britain.  In  another  section  the  houses  will  be  sold  outright  on 
instalments;  in  a  third  section  houses  will  be  built  for  rent, 
while  in  a  fourth  district  the  railroad  company  will  construct 
special  buildings  as  required  for  shops,  lodgings,  boarding  houses, 
etc. 

Developments  somewhat  closely  allied  to  garden  cities 
have  been  frequently  undertaken  on  a  small  scale  by  individual 
real  estate  developers,  some  of  these  being  located  near  the  cen- 
ters of  large  cities,  such  as  the  one  just  outside  of  San  Francisco, 
the  plan  of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  60,  and  others  well  outside  the 
city  limits.    In  many  of  the  former  cases  the  developers  have  been 


314 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City- 


obliged  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  street  system  which  has 
already  been  imposed  upon  the  district,  while  in  the  latter  they 


Fig.  6o. — Plan  of  a  suburban  development  in  the  outskirts  of  San  Francisco. 


have  had  much  more  freedom  in  determining  the  street  lines 
and  block  dimensions.  The  purpose  of  such  developers  has 
usually  been  to  give  the  property  some  distinctive  character. 


PLATE  86 


Views  of  "  Station  Place,"  Forest  Hills  Gardens,  New  York.  (See  Fig.  59 
and  PI.  67.)  Reproduced  by  courtesy  of  the  Sage  Foundation  Homes  Co. 
(pp.  244  and  312). 


PLATE  87 


Plan  of,  and  cottages  erected  at,  Billerica  Garden  Suburb.  A.  Purchase  zone. 
B.  Reserved  for  copartnership.  C.  Renting  zone.  D.  Special  zone.  Repro- 
duced from  plan  and  photograph  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Arthur  C.  Comey 
(p.  312). 


Garden  Cities  315 


They  have  been  entirely  commercial  enterprises,  and  when 
the  property  has  been  sold  the  possibility  of  central  control 
ends  and  the  care  of  the  unimproved  lots  and  of  the  street 
planting  is  either  taken  over  by  the  city  or  is  voluntarily  assumed 
by  an  association  of  the  lot  purchasers,  in  which  latter  case, 
however,  it  rarely  happens  that  all  of  the  owners  will  enter  such 
an  association  and  contribute  their  fair  share  of  the  expense.  In 
some  instances  the  original  developers  have  taken  the  precaution 
to  insert  in  every  contract  of  sale  a  provision  that  the  purchaser 
shall  join  with  other  owners  within  the  limits  of  the  develop- 
ment and  consent  to  an  annual  assessment  of  a  fixed  sum 
per  foot  of  frontage  to  meet  the  expense  of  caring  for  the  plant- 
ing, cutting  the  grass  within  the  street  lines,  the  care  of  the 
trees  and  the  removal  of  snow  from  the  sidewalks.  These 
obligations  were  supposed  to  run  with  the  land,  and  their  binding 
character  has  been  confirmed  by  the  courts.  Even  with  a 
rigid  rectangular  street  system  of  the  most  commonplace  type 
very  satisfactory  results  have  been  secured  in  this  way,  and  a 
few  object  lessons  scattered  throughout  a  great  city  have  had 
a  marked  influence  upon  the  general  character  of  real  estate 
development. 

In  order  that  a  garden  city  may  be  intelligently  planned 
and  satisfactorily  maintained  it  is  obviously  necessary  that 
there  shall  be  rigid  restrictions  governing  the  character  of 
buildings  to  be  erected,  the  space  between  buildings,  their  loca- 
tion with  respect  to  the  street  and  with  respect  to  each  other, 
the  treatment  not  only  of  the  street  itself  but  of  the  private 
property  abutting  upon  it,  all  of  which  restrictions  must  be 
enforced  by  some  authority  which  will  retain  a  large  degree  of 
control  over  the  entire  tract,  or  by  restrictions  of  record  which 
run  with  the  land  and  which  can  be  legally  enforced,  or  by 
mutual  agreement  between  the  separate  property  owners. 
The  success  of  the  development  will  depend  in  a  great  measure 
upon  the  intelligence  and  reasonableness  of  these  restrictions. 
Those  included  in  the  Hampstead  Garden  Suburb  Act  of  1906, 
and  those  imposed  by  the  Sage  Foundation  Homes  Company, 


316  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

at  Forest  Hills  Gardens,  will  be  briefly  outlined,  the  former  as 
typical  of  the  garden  city  developments  in  Great  Britain  and 
the  latter  as  among  the  first  attempts  to  work  out  garden  city 
regulations  in  the  United  States.  In  neither  case  will  the 
restrictions  be  given  in  full,  but,  though  much  condensed, 
their  general  purposes  will  be  indicated.  The  Hampstead 
Garden  Suburb  Act  contains  certain  specific  provisions  or 
prohibitions  and  indicates  other  things  that  the  company 
might  do  if  it  chose.  The  important  provisions  of  the  act  are 
as  follows: 

There  shall  not  be  built  on  the  average  more  than  eight  houses  to  the 
acre. 

On  every  road,  whatever  its  width,  there  shall  not  be  less  than  50  ft. 
between  houses  on  opposite  sides  of  the  road  free  of  any  buUdings  except 
walls,  fences  or  gates. 

As  to  gardens,  recreation  grounds  or  open  spaces  for  common  use,  the 
company  may  make  regulations  fixing  the  days  and  times  of  admission, 
and  for  preservation  of  order  and  prevention  of  nuisances,  and  may 
impose  penalties  of  not  more  than  five  pounds  for  breaches  thereof. 

The  company  may  make  such  charges  as  it  thinks  fit  for  the  use  of 
buildings,  gardenSj  recreation  grounds  and  open  spaces. 

While  the  company  is  allowed  considerable  latitude  as  to  the  width  of 
roads  and  their  subdivisions,  the  following  general  provisions  shall  control: 

(a)  Any  existing  road  500  ft.  in  length  for  the  purpose  of  giving  access 
to  a  group  of  houses  and  not  designed  for  through  trafiic  may,  with  the 
consent  of  the  local  authority  (in  this  case  the  Urban  District  Council  of 
Hendon),  be  exempted  from  any  portion  of  any  by-laws  of  the  local  author- 
ity relating  to  the  width  of  streets  and  footways,  but  shall  be  subject  to 
any  by-laws  other  than  these,  provided  that  no  such  accommodation  road 
shall  be  less  than  20  ft.  wide. 

(b)  The  provisions  of  the  Public  Health  Act  of  1875,  as  to  the  grading, 
paving  and  flagging  of  streets  not  repairable  by  the  inhabitants  at  large, 
and  as  to  the  dedication  of  such  streets  as  highways  shall  not,  without  the 
consent  of  the  company,  apply  to  any  accommodation  road  so  long  as 
it  is  maintained  in  good  order  to  the  reasonable  satisfaction  of  the  local 
authority. 

(c)  No  road  other  than  an  accommodation  road  shall  be  less  than  40 
ft.  wide,  but  need  not  be  of  greater  width,  notwithstanding  any  future 
provision  of  by-laws  of  the  local  authority  relating  to  the  width  of  new 
streets. 


Garden  Cities  317 


(d)  If  the  company  provides  roads  other  than  accommodation  roads 
of  a  greater  width  than  40  ft.,  the  excess  over  such  width  may  consist  of 
grass  margins  or  grounds  planted  with  trees  or  laid  out  as  gardens,  and 
shall  not  without  the  consent  of  the  company  be  paved  or  flagged  or  taken 
over  by  the  local  authority. 

(c)  The  local  authority  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  company,  take 
over  and  maintain  as  highways  any  roads  which  shall  have  been  sewered, 
graded  and  fully  improved,  with  proper  means  of  lighting,  satisfactory  to 
the  local  authority,  even  though  such  roads  may  not  be  of  the  full  width 
prescribed  or  may  not  be  otherwise  in  accordance  with  the  by-laws  in 
force  in  the  district.  If  the  consent  of  the  local  authority  be  withheld,  or 
if  any  other  diflference  arises  between  the  company  and  the  local  authority, 
the  matter  in  question  shall  be  referred  to  the  determination  of  an  arbi- 
trator appointed  by  the  Local  Government  Board  on  application  of 
either  party. 

In  the  case  of  the  Forest  Hills  Gardens  the  Sage  Foundation 
Homes  Company  has  published  the  restrictions  which  are  im- 
posed upon  all  plots  sold,  with  a  few  exceptions  which  are  noted 
in  the  information  furnished  to  prospective  purchasers,  and  these 
restrictions  are  recited  in  their  deeds.     They  are  as  follows: 

No  building,  fence,  wall  or  other  structure  shall  be  erected  or  main- 
tained nor  any  change  or  alteration  made  therein  unless  the  plans  and 
specifications  therefor  showing  the  nature,  kind,  shape,  height,  material, 
color-scheme  and  location  of  such  structure  and  the  grading  plans  of  the 
lot  or  plot  to  be  built  upon  shall  have  been  submitted  to,  approved  in 
writing  by,  and  a  copy  thereof  lodged  permanently  with  the  Homes  Co. 

No  building  or  part  thereof,  except  porches,  steps,  and  bay,  bow  and 
oriel  windows  shall  be  erected  or  permitted  within  25  ft.  of  any  front  street 
or  within  12^  ft.  of  any  side  street  not  less  than  30  ft.  in  width. 

No  building  or  part  thereof  shall  be  erected  or  permitted  within  ten  feet 
of  the  rear  line  of  any  lot. 

Porches,  the  floors  of  which  are  not  higher  than  the  level  of  the  first 
floor  of  the  building,  may  be  built  to  within  15  ft.  of  any  front  street  where 
the  building  set-back  is  25  ft.  or  more,  to  within  ten  feet  of  any  front  street 
where  the  building  set-back  is  less  than  25  ft.  and  to  within  6 J  ft.  of  any  side 
street. 

Steps  extending  not  higher  than  the  level  of  the  first  floor  of  the  build- 
ing may  be  built  on  such  restricted  areas,  except  on  those  in  the  rear. 

Bay,  bow  and  oriel  windows  not  more  than  15  ft.  in  height  may  encroach 
on  any  of  such  restricted  areas,  except  on  those  in  the  rear,  by  projecting 


318  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

thereon  not  more  than  three  feet;  but  the  total  horizontal  area  of  such 
encroachment  on  any  one  side  or  front  shall  not  exceed  30  sq.  ft. 

No  garage  shall  be  erected  within  60  ft.  of  any  front  street  or  within 
25  ft.  of  any  other  street  not  less  than  30  ft.  in  width. 

Free  spaces  shall  be  left  on  the  lot  or  plot  built  upon  on  both  sides  of 
every  building,  extending  the  fujl  depth  of  the  lot  or  plot,  which  free 
spaces  shall  be  independent  of  any  free  spaces  pertaining  to  or  required 
for  any  other  building.  No  part  of  any  building  except  porches,  steps 
and  bay,  bow  or  oriel  windows,  shall  encroach  on  these  free  spaces.  The 
aggregate  width  of  such  free  spaces  on  both  sides  of  any  building,  except 
to  the  extent  modified  in  deeds  made  by  the  Homes  Co.,  shall  be,  for 
buildings  30  ft.  or  less  in  width,  not  less  than  15  ft.  and  for  buildings  more 
than  30  ft.  in  width  not  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the  width  of  the  building  less 
fifteen  one-hundredths  of  i  per  cent  for  every  foot  of  such  additional 
width  of  building  over  30  ft.  In  no  event,  however,  shall  the  aggregate 
width  of  the  free  spaces  be  less  than  25  per  cent  of  the  width  of  the 
buUding. 

The  minimum  width  of  such  free  spaces  to  be  left  on  either  side  of  any 
building  shall,  in  the  case  of  a  single  or  detached  building,  be  35  per  cent, 
and  in  the  case  of  attached  or  "  block  houses  "  40  per  cent,  of  the  minimum 
aggregate  width  of  such  free  spaces. 

Porches,  the  floors  of  which  are  not  higher  than  the  level  of  the  first 
floor  of  the  building,  may  encroach  upon  such  free  spaces,  but  not  nearer 
than  three  feet  to  either  exterior  limit  of  such  free  spaces. 

Steps  extending  not  higher  than  the  level  of  the  first  floor  of  the  build- 
ing may  be  built  on  such  free  spaces. 

Bay,  bow  and  oriel  windows,  such  as  are  permitted  on  the  restricted 
areas,  may  encroach  upon  the  free  spaces,  but  shall,  in  no  event,  be  built 
nearer  than  three  feet  to  either  exterior  limit  of  such  free  spaces. 

No  building  or  "  block  "  of  buildings  more  than  250  ft.  in  width  or  length 
shall  be  erected  or  maintained. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon 
the  fact  that  the  underlying  idea  of  the  garden  city  is  not  only 
to  provide  attractive  and  wholesome  surroundings  for  the  homes 
of  those  who,  whether  from  choice  or  compulsion,  are  obhged 
to  Hve  in  or  near  large  cities  or  centers  of  industry.  That  may 
be  its  most  obvious  purpose,  but  the  movement  goes  much 
further.  It  is  really  a  protest  against  the  extreme  centraliza- 
tion which  has  lately  been  the  tendency  in  city  development. 
It  is  designed  to  encourage  the  diffusion  of  business,  industry 


Garden  Cities  319 


and  population,  to  make  traffic  less  intensive  and  movement 
more  comfortable,  even  though  the  eUmination  of  "  strap 
hanging  "  in  public  conveyances  may  somewhat  reduce  the 
profits  of  the  transportation  companies.  Both  of  these  ideas 
were  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Howard  when  he  wrote  the  little  book 
referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter;  and  while  that 
purpose  appears  to  have  been  lost  sight  of  in  many  of  the  plans 
which  have  been  proposed  and  carried  out  and  in  most  of  the 
discussion  of  the  subject,  it  should  not  be  overlooked. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
CITY  PLANNING  LEGISLATION 

CITIES  of  Continental  Europe,  especially  those  of  Germany, 
have  far  broader  powers  than  have  those  of  the  United 
States  or  Great  Britain.  It  may  be  generally  stated  that  the 
former  can  do  almost  anything  not  forbidden  by  law,  while 
the  latter  can  do  only  those  things  which  are  permitted  or 
directed  by  general  or  special  enabling  acts.  In  the  former 
the  cities  are  to  a  large  degree  independent  of  the  state,  although 
of  the  ancient  free  cities  under  the  Hanseatic  League  only  three 
retain  their  pecuHar  privileges  which  they  enjoyed  as  free  cities, 
namely:  Hamburg,  Bremen  and  Liibeck,  while  Frankfort 
retained  these  rights  until  1866.  These  free  cities  were  actually 
city  states,  such  as  Genoa,  Florence  and  Venice  once  were.  In 
the  English-speaking  countries  the  cities  are  the  creatures  of 
the  state,  and  they  are  constantly  reminded  of  their  dependence. 
It  is  not,  or  at  least  it  was  not  until  very  recently,  unusual  for 
cities  in  the  United  States  to  be  obliged  to  go  to  the  state  legis- 
lature for  permission  to  make  any  changes  in  the  city  plan, 
such  as  a  change  in  the  lines  of  a  street,  the  closing  of  an  existing 
or  the  laying  out  of  a  new  street,  the  establishment  of  a  new  park, 
or  even  in  some  cases  the  modification  of  street  details,  such  as 
the  widening  of  roadways  by  reducing  the  width  of  sidewalks. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  laws  enacted  at  legislative  sessions 
dealt  with  details  of  this  kind,  which  it  would  be  natural  to 
suppose  would  be  determined  by  the  local  authorities.  In 
Great  Britain  special  authority  of  Parliament  was  required  for 
municipal  improvements,  especially  those  involving  the  expro- 
priation of  private  property. 

320 


City  Planning  Legislation  321 

During  recent  years  there  has  been  a  disposition  to  grant 
to  American  cities  a  far  larger  measure  of  home  rule,  municipal 
legislative  bodies  being  authorized  to  prepare  plans  for  future 
development  and  to  modify  such  plans,  once  adopted,  in  all 
their  details.  Instead  of  applying  to  a  state  legislature  for 
authority  to  expend  money  for  certain  purposes  and  to  issue 
their  obligations  for  money  borrowed,  or  to  recover  the  cost 
of  improvements  by  assessment,  the  cities  are  now  quite  gen- 
erally left  to  determine  these  questions  for  themselves,  with  the 
single  provision — and  that  a  wise  one — that  the  total  city  debt 
may  not  exceed  a  certain  percentage  of  the  value  of  real  estate 
within  the  city  as  assessed  for  the  purpose  of  taxation.  This 
percentage  varies  in  different  states,  and  in  some  cases  debt 
incurred  for  increasing  or  improving  the  water  supply  is  not 
included  in  estimating  the  city's  limit  of  debt-incurring  capacity, 
as  municipal  water  systems  are  usually  self-sustaining  and 
frequently  yield  a  profit.  Again,  as  in  the  case  of  New  York 
City,  debt  incurred  for  other  projects  which  return  enough 
to  care  for  interest  and  amortization  of  the  bonds  representing 
their  cost,  such  as  the  first  rapid  transit  subway  and  certain 
water-front  improvements,  are  also  excluded  in  estimating  the 
limit  of  bonded  indebtedness. 

American  cities  generally  are  obliged  to  conduct  their  busi- 
ness under  charters  which  define  in  considerable  detail  the 
officers  to  be  elected  and  appointed  and  the  matters  over  which 
such  officers  shall  exercise  administrative  control.  These 
charters  are  legislative  enactments  and,  while  many  of  them 
are  special  laws,  there  is  a  tendency  in  some  of  the  states  to 
prescribe  uniform  charters  for  cities  of  the  same  class,  such 
class  being  determined  by  their  population.  The  most  notable 
development  of  the  home-rule  idea  for  cities  is  the  "  commission  " 
form  of  government.  The  first  application  of  this  idea  was  in 
the  city  of  Galveston,  Texas.  In  September,  1900,  a  violent 
storm,  accompanied  by  a  tidal  wave,  practically  wrecked  the 
city,  which  is  situated  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  an  exposed 
position.     The  city  was  already  in  bad  financial  condition  and 


322  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  municipal  government  was  imable  to  cope  with  the  situation; 
all  of  the  departments  and  bureaus  were  paralyzed,  and  it  was 
soon  realized  that  administration  under  a  city  charter,  with 
the  limitations  imposed  by  such  an  instrument,  was  almost 
hopeless  under  such  exigent  conditions.  It  is  said  that  in  the 
two  years  immediately  preceding  the  disaster  the  city  issued 
some  $200,000  in  bonds  to  pay  ordinary  operating  expenses, 
and  that  payment  for  current  obligations  was  made  in  scrip, 
cashable  only  at  a  discount.  The  commission  plan  of  gov- 
ernment was  fully  launched  in  February,  1902,  when  the 
bonded  debt  of  the  city  was  about  $3,000,000.  The  new 
government  embarked  upon  a  scheme  of  permanent  improve- 
ment which  was  designed  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the 
disaster  which  had  overtaken  Galveston  two  years  before. 
The  most  important  of  these  improvements  was  the  raising  of 
the  grade  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  city,  at  an  expense 
of  over  $2,000,000,  while  $225,000  was  expended  on  sea  walls 
and  $300,000  on  drainage.  The  total  amount  of  bonds  issued 
since  the  new  form  of  government  was  adopted  has  been  nearly 
$6,000,000,  but  about  $1,500,000  of  the  obligations  thus  incurred 
has  already  been  paid  off  and  another  $1,500,000  has  been 
devoted  to  the  improvement  of  the  water- works  system  and  other 
important  municipal  projects.  In  1898,  the  assessed  valuation 
of  the  real  estate  in  the  city  of  Galveston  was  slightly 
over  $27,000,000,  and  the  tax  rate  was  1.57  per  cent.  In 
1902,  when  the  commission  form  of  government  first  became 
operative,  the  assessed  values  had  fallen  to  $20,749,000.  In 
1913  the  assessed  values  had  risen  to  $36,391,745,  and  the  tax 
rate,  which  had  risen  to  1.68  per  cent  in  1908,  had  fallen  to 
1. 10  per  cent. 

Municipal  "  commission  "  government  is  not  government  by 
commission,  as  some  of  the  national  or  state  functions  are  exer- 
cised through  commissioners  appointed  by  the  executive  or 
created  by  legislative  enactment.  The  name  in  general  use  is 
said  to  have  been  adopted  in  Galveston  for  the  reason  that  a 
majority  of  the  first  administrative  board  were  appointed  and 


City  Planning  Legislation  323 

"  commissioned  "  by  the  governor  of  the  state  to  deal  with  the 
special  conditions  existing  in  that  city.  Two  years  later  the 
members  of  the  board  were  elected,  but  the  name  "  commission  " 
has  persisted.  The  Galveston  commission  consists  of  five 
members,  one  of  whom  has  the  title  of  mayor,  although  his 
duties  and  powers  differ  little  from  those  of  his  colleagues.  To 
these  men  is  entrusted  the  management  of  the  city's  affairs, 
specific  functions  being  assigned  to  each.  The  plan  worked  so 
satisfactorily  in  Galveston  that  it  was  soon  tried  in  other  cities, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  year  1915  about  400  cities  and  towns  in 
the  United  States  had  adopted  it.  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  added  to 
the  Galveston  plan  provision  for  a  referendum  vote  by  the 
people  on  ordinances,  the  initiation  of  municipal  legislation  by 
the  people,  and  the  recall  of  elected  officials  before  the  expira- 
tion of  their  terms.  In  the  State  of  New  Jersey  a  law  enacted 
in  19 1 1  provides  that  any  city  or  town  in  the  state  may  adopt 
a  commission  form  of  government.  The  latest  development 
of  the  idea  is  the  "  commission-manager  "  plan  adopted  by  the 
city  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  at  an  election  held  August  12,  1913. 
This  city,  Hke  Galveston,  had  been  the  victim  of  a  great  disaster 
due  to  floods  in  several  rivers  which  unite  within  or  near  the 
city  limits;  and  while  the  idea  was  already  in  the  air,  its  adop- 
tion may  have  been  to  some  extent  due  to  the  special  conditions 
following  this  disaster.  A  brief  abstract  of  some  of  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Dayton  charter  will  be  given  as  affording  a  fair  idea 
of  its  self-governing  features  and  of  the  "  commission  plan  " 
with  the  addition  of  a  city  manager. 

The  powers  granted  to  the  city  include  the  right  to  acquire, 
construct,  lease  and  operate  and  regulate  public  utilities;  to 
appropriate  the  money  of  the  city  for  all  lawful  purposes;  to 
create,  provide  for,  construct  and  maintain  all  things  of  the 
nature  of  pubh'c  works  and  improvements;  to  regulate  the  con- 
struction, height  and  material  used  in  all  buildings,  and  the 
maintenance  and  occupancy  thereof. 

The  form  of  government  shall  be  known  as  the  "  commission- 
manager  "  plan,  and  shall  consist  of  a  commission  of  five  citizens 


324  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

elected  at  large.  The  commission  shall  constitute  the  govern- 
ing body  and  appoint  a  chief  administrative  ojQ&cer  to  be  known 
as  the  city  manager. 

Any  or  aU  of  the  commissioners  or  the  city  manager  may  be 
removed  from  oflSce  by  the  electors,  and  the  charter  stipulates  the 
manner  in  which  such  a  recall  shall  be  submitted  to  the  voters. 

The  city  manager  shall  be  the  administrative  head  of  the 
municipal  government  and  shall  be  responsible  for  the  efficient 
administration  of  all  departments.  He  shall  be  appointed  with- 
out regard  to  his  political  beliefs,  and  may  or  may  not  be  a 
resident  of  the  city  of  Dayton  when  appointed.  He  shall  hold 
office  at  the  will  of  the  commission  and  shall  be  subject  to  recall. 

The  following  departments  are  provided  for: 

Law,  Public  Service,  PubHc  Welfare,  PubUc  Safety  and 
Finance. 

The  commission  may  discontinue  any  department  and 
determine,  combine  and  distribute  the  functions  and  duties 
of  departments  and  subdivisions  thereof.  A  director  for  each 
department  shall  be  appointed  by  the  city  manager  and  shall 
serve  until  removed  by  the  city  manager  or  until  his  successor 
is  appointed  and  has  qualified. 

The  commission  may  appoint  a  city  plan  board,  and  upon 
request  of  the  city  manager  shall  appoint  advisory  boards,  the 
members  of  which  shall  serve  without  compensation. 

The  commission  shall  have  power  to  provide  for  the  construc- 
tion, reconstruction,  repair  and  maintenance,  by  contractor 
directly  by  the  employment  of  labor,  of  all  things  in  the  nature 
of  local  improvements,  and  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  any 
part  of  the  cost  of  such  improvements  by  special  assessments 
upon  both  adjacent  and  contiguous  or  other  especially  bene- 
fited property,  but  the  amount  assessed  against  property 
especially  benefited  shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  the  benefits 
accruing  to  such  property.  Special  assessments  shall  be  by 
any  one  of  the  following  methods : 

(a)  By  a  percentage  of  the  taxed  value  of  the  property 
assessed. 


City  Planning  Legislation  325 


(b)  In  proportion  to  the  benefits  which  may  result  from  the 
improvement, 

(c)  By  the  foot  frontage  of  the  property  bounding  or  abutting 
upon  the  improvement. 

Assessments  may  be  paid  in  annual  instalments,  but  the 
number  of  such  instalments  shall  in  no  case  be  greater  than  the 
estimated  years  of  life  of  the  improvement. 

The  city  shall  pay  such  part  of  the  cost  and  expense  of  local 
improvements  as  the  commission  deems  just,  which  part  shall 
not  be  less  than  one  fiftieth  of  the  total  cost,  and  in  addition 
thereto  the  city  shall  pay  the  cost  cf  street  intersections. 

The  commission  may  provide  in  whole  or  in  part  the  cost  of 
replacing  any  improvement  existing  in  a  street  at  the  time  of 
the  adoption  of  the  charter  by  levying  special  assessments  as 
hereinbefore  provided;  but  any  assessment  for  such  replace- 
ment in  less  than  1 5  years  from  the  date  of  a  prior  assessment 
for  the  improvement  to  be  replaced  shall  not  exceed  50  per  cent 
of  the  cost  of  such  replacement. 

An  owner  of  lots  or  grounds  within  the  city,  who  subdivides 
or  lays  them  out  for  sale,  shall  cause  to  be  made  an  accurate 
map  or  plat  of  such  subdivision,  describing  with  certainty  all 
grounds  laid  out  or  granted  for  streets,  alleys,  ways,  commons, 
or  other  pubUc  uses.  Lots  sold  or  intended  for  sale  shall  be 
numbered  by  progressive  number,  or  described  by  the  squares 
in  which  situated,  and  the  precise  length  and  width  shall  be 
given  of  each  lot  sold  or  intended  for  sale.  Such  map  or  plat 
shall  be  subscribed  by  the  owner  and  Hen  holders,  acknowl- 
edged before  an  officer  authorized  to  take  the  acknowledgment 
of  deeds,  approved  by  the  Director  of  Public  Service,  and  re- 
corded in  the  office  of  the  County  Recorder. 

The  map  or  plat  so  recorded  shall  thereupon  be  a  sufficient 
conveyance  to  vest  in  the  city  the  fee  of  the  parcels  of  land 
designated  or  intended  for  streets,  alleys,  ways,  commons  or 
other  public  uses,  to  be  held  in  the  corporate  name  in  trust  to 
and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  in  the  instrument  set  forth,  ex- 
pressed, designated  or  intended. 


326  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  Director  of  Public  Service  shall  be  the  Supervisor 
of  Plats  of  the  city.  He  shall  provide  regulations  governing 
the  platting  of  all  lands  so  as  to  require  all  streets  and  alleys  to 
be  of  proper  width,  and  to  be  coterminous  with  adjoining  streets 
and  alleys,  and  otherwise  to  conform  to  regulations  prescribed 
by  him.  Whenever  he  shall  deem  it  expedient  to  plat  any 
portion  of  territory  within  the  city  limits  in  which  the  neces- 
sary or  convenient  streets  or  alleys  have  not  already  been 
accepted  by  the  city  so  as  to  become  public  streets  or  alleys, 
or  when  any  person  plats  any  land  within  the  corporate  limits 
or  within  three  miles  thereof,  the  Supervisor  of  Plats  shall,  if 
such  plats  are  in  accordance  with  the  rules  as  prescribed  by  him, 
endorse  his  written  approval  thereon.  No  plat  subdividing 
lands  within  the  corporate  limits,  or  within  three  miles  thereof, 
shall  be  entitled  to  record  in  the  recorder's  office  of  the  county 
without  such  written  approval  so  endorsed  thereon. 

No  streets  or  alleys,  except  those  laid  down  on  such  plat 
and  bearing  the  approval  of  the  Supervisor  of  Plats  as  herein- 
before provided,  shall  subsequently  in  any  way  be  accepted  as 
pubHc  streets  or  alleys  by  the  city,  nor  shall  any  public  funds  be 
expended  in  the  repair  or  improvement  of  streets  and  alleys 
subsequently  laid  out  and  not  on  such  plat.  This  restriction 
shall  not  apply  to  a  street  or  alley  laid  out  by  the  city,  nor  to 
streets,  alleys  or  public  grounds  laid  out  on  a  plat  by  or  with 
the  approval  of  the  Supervisor  of  Plats. 

The  commission  may  cause  any  street,  alley  or  public  high- 
way to  be  opened,  straightened,  altered,  diverted,  narrowed, 
widened  or  vacated.  No  street  or  alley  hereafter  dedicated  to 
pubHc  use  by  the  proprietor  of  the  ground  in  the  city  shall  be 
deemed  a  public  street  or  under  the  care  or  control  of  the  com- 
mission unless  the  dedication  be  accepted  and  confirmed  by 
ordinance  passed  for  such  purpose,  or  unless  the  provisions  relat- 
ing to  subdivisions  shall  have  been  compUed  with. 

Property  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  may  be  appro- 
priated for  any  public  or  municipal  purpose  and  to  the  full 
extent  of  the  authority  granted  by  the  constitution  of  the  state. 


City  Planning  Legislation  327 


Appropriation  of  property  outside  the  corporate  limits  of  the 
city  shall  be  made  according  to  the  requirements  of  and  as  pro- 
vided by  general  law. 

Amendments  of  the  charter  may  be  submitted  to  the  electors 
of  the  state  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  commission  and  may  be 
submitted  by  the  commission  when  a  petition  signed  by  ten 
per  cent  of  the  electors  shall  have  been  filed  with  the  election 
authorities. 

While  the  recent  laws  above  referred  to  and  the  tendencies 
which  they  indicate  relate  more  specifically  to  self-governing 
powers  than  to  city  planning,  they  are  laws  which  make  intelli- 
gent planning  possible  if  their  provisions  are  availed  of.  There 
has,  however,  been  much  legislation  recently  which  is  especially 
intended  to  promote  or  to  make  possible  better  planning  or 
which  should  indirectly  produce  that  result.  Perhaps  the  most 
notable  law  of  this  kind  is  the  British  Town  Planning  Act  of 
1909,  and  a  review  of  its  scope  and  general  provisions  and  of 
what  has  been  accomplished  through  it  will  not  be  out  of  place, 
the  material  being  taken  from  the  act  itself,  from  the  memo- 
randa explaining  it  which  have  been  issued  from  time  to  time  by 
the  Local  Government  Board  to  the  Metropolitan,  Borough, 
Town,  Urban  and  Rural  District  Councils,  from  the  pages  of 
the  Town  Planning  Review,  and  from  information  kindly  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Thomas  Adams,  formerly  Town  Planning  Expert 
of  the  Local  Government  Board,  and  now  Town  Planning 
Adviser  to  the  Canadian  Commission  of  Conservation. 

The  underlying  idea  of  the  act  is  the  prevention  of  bad 
development  in  the  future,  rather  than  the  removal  of  existing 
evils.  For  that  reason  the  act  appHes  primarily  to  land  in  course 
of  development  and  likely  to  be  used  for  building  purposes,  and 
only  secondarily  to  land  already  built  upon.  The  object  aimed 
at  is  the  securing  of  proper  sanitation,  amenity  and  convenience. 
It  can  be  availed  of  by  any  local  authority  and,  as  soon  as 
application  is  made  to  the  Local  Government  Board  for  authority 
to  prepare  a  scheme,  no  compensation  will  be  payable  in  respect 
of  any  building  erected  or  contract  made  which  will  contravene 


328  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  proposed  scheme.  Thus,  if  it  is  proposed  in  the  scheme  to 
construct  a  new  arterial  road  between  A  and  B,  the  authorities 
may  prevent  any  building  being  erected  on  the  Hne  of  the 
proposed  road  from  the  moment  they  apply  for  permission,  i.e., 
before  the  definite  Hne  of  the  road  is  agreed  upon  or  made  pubUc. 
An  important  consideration  which  was  evidently  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  devised  this  law,  which  applies  not  only  to  every 
great  city  but  to  every  town  in  England,  Scotland  and  Wales, 
is  that  every  urban  district  has  a  powerful  effect  upon  and  is  sim- 
ilarly affected  by  the  territory  outside  of  its  corporate  limits. 
The  city  plan  need  not  be  bounded  by  the  red  lines  indicating 
the  city  or  town  Umits.  In  the  last  analysis  every  part  of  a 
thickly  settled  country  can  either  be  included  within  the  Umits 
of  a  town  planning  scheme  or  is  so  powerfully  affected  by  its 
proximity  thereto  that  the  entire  territory  will  inevitably  be 
influenced  by  the  operation  of  a  town  planning  law  so  general 
in  its  application.  Heretofore  most  projects  materially  affecting 
any  city,  whether  that  city  was  great  or  small,  especially  one 
involving  the  power  to  compulsorily  acquire  land,  could  be 
carried  out  only  with  the  express  authority  of  ParHament. 
Almost  the  only  acts  which  were  quite  general  in  their  applica- 
tion were  those  relating  to  sanitary  housing,  such  as  "  The 
Housing  of  the  Working  Class  Act  "  of  1890  and  its  several 
amendments.  The  most  liberal  enactment,  so  far  as  the  delega- 
tion of  powers  to  local  authorities  is  concerned,  was  that  of  1908 
with  respect  to  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Liverpool.  This 
law  provides  that  the  Liverpool  Corporation  may  require  any 
land  owner  who  proposes  to  develop  his  property  to  submit  a 
general  scheme  for  such  development,  and  it  may  require 
streets  to  be  of  such  width  as  it  may  prescribe,  with  the  provi- 
sion that  compensation  must  be  paid  if  a  main  thoroughfare  is 
required  to  be  more  than  80  ft.  wide,  or  any  other  street  more 
than  36  ft.  wide,  which  is  known  as  the  by-law  width;  that  is, 
the  city  may  require  for  main  thoroughfares  the  giving,  without 
compensation,  of  sufficient  land  to  provide  a  street  not  more 
than  80  ft.  in  width,  and  compensation  is  only  paid  for  the  area 


City  Planning  Legislation  329 

taken  in  excess  of  this  width,  while  for  subsidiary  streets  no 
compensation  is  paid  except  for  a  width  of  over  36  ft.  The 
corporation  is  further  authorized  to  require  buildings  to  be  set 
back  any  distance  from  the  street,  with  the  proviso  that  if 
that  distance  is  more  than  one-tenth  the  width  of  the  street, 
compensation  must  be  made.  It  will  be  seen  that  under  this 
law  the  city  of  Liverpool  may  without  cost  to  the  taxpayers 
require  buildings  in  a  new  main  thoroughfare  to  be  placed 
96  ft.  apart,  and  in  other  new  streets  43.2  ft.  apart.  The 
corporation  is  also  given  the  power  to  prescribe  new  building 
lines  in  old  streets,  and  may  require  the  owners  to  pull  down 
existing  buildings  in  order  to  widen  a  street,  in  which  event 
compensation  is,  of  course,  paid  to  the  owner;  but  such  compen- 
sation is  reduced  by  the  amount  of  betterment  which  accrues 
to  the  land-owner  in  each  case.  The  corporation  is  also  author- 
ized to  negotiate  with  land-owners  for  a  give-and-take  line  for 
straightening  streets  and  for  the  setting  apart  of  land  for  a 
public  park  or  open  space  in  exchange  for  the  execution  of  new 
street  improvements  by  the  corporation  without  expense  to 
the  property  owners.  The  granting  of  these  Hberal  powers  to 
the  city  of  Liverpool  was  unprecedented,  and  the  act  was 
adopted  after  protracted  debate  and  in  the  face  of  considerable 
opposition. 

The  general  act  of  1909  apph'es  to  the  whole  of  England  and 
Wales  and,  with  slight  modifications,  to  Scotland.  Its  object, 
as  defined  in  its  opening  section,  is  the  "securing  proper  sanitary 
conditions,  amenity  and  convenience  in  connection  with  the 
laying  out  and  use  of  the  land  and  of  any  neighboring  lands." 
Upon  the  Local  Government  Board  has  been  conferred 
authority  formerly  exercised  only  by  Parliament  itself,  the 
latter  retaining,  however,  certain  veto  powers.  The  area  which 
may  be  included  in  a  scheme  is  any  land  which  is  in  course  of 
development  or  which  is  hkely  to  be  used  for  building  or  for 
open  spaces,  roads,  streets,  parks,  pleasure  grounds  or  incidental 
works,  and  may  include  land  already  built  upon  and  even  land 
not  likely  to  be  used  for  building  purposes  if  it  is  so  situated 


330  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

that  it  ought  to  be  included  in  the  scheme.  The  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  may  authorize  a  local  authority  to  prepare  a  town 
planning  scheme  if  the  board  is  satisfied  that  there  is  a  reason- 
able need  for  such  a  plan.  A  scheme  proposed  and  adopted 
by  any  local  authority  cannot  become  effective  unless  it  shall 
first  have  been  approved  by  the  Local  Government  Board, 
which  may  refuse  its  approval  except  with  such  modifications 
and  subject  to  such  conditions  as  it  may  see  fit  to  impose.  Be- 
fore approval  by  the  Local  Government  Board  notice  shall  be 
published  in  the  London  or  Edinburgh  Gazette,  as  the  case  may 
be  and,  if  within  twenty-one  days  of  the  time  of  publication  no 
interested  person  or  authority  objects  to  the  draft  of  the  order 
of  approval,  it  becomes  law,  except  that  when  any  scheme 
includes  provisions  suspending  any  general  exactment,  it  shall 
be  laid  before  both  houses  of  Parliament  for  not  less  than  thirty 
days  during  a  session  of  Parliament;  and  if  before  the  expiration 
of  thirty  days  either  house  presents  an  address  to  the  Crown 
against  the  draft  or  any  part  thereof,  no  further  proceedings 
shall  be  taken,  without  prejudice,  however,  to  the  making  of  a 
new  draft  scheme.  A  town  planning  scheme  once  adopted  may 
be  varied  or  revoked  by  the  same  method  of  procedure  as 
that  followed  in  its  original  adoption. 

The  Local  Government  Board  is  authorized  to  prescribe  pro- 
visions for  carrying  out  the  general  objects  of  town  planning 
schemes,  these  objects  being  given  in  the  widest  terms  in  a  sched- 
ule which  is  a  part  of  the  act,  including  the  laying  out  and  improve- 
ment of  streets  and  roads  and  the  closing  or  diversion  of  existing 
highways;  the  erection  of  buildings  and  other  structures;  the  pro- 
vision of  open  spaces,  both  private  and  pubKc;  the  preservation  of 
objects  of  historical  interest  or  natural  beauty;  sewerage,  drainage 
and  sewage  disposal;  lighting;  water  supply;  the  extinction  of  pri- 
vate rights-of-way  or  other  easements;  the  disposal  of  land 
acquired  by  the  local  authorities;  the  removal,  alteration  or 
demolition  of  any  work  which  would  obstruct  the  carrying  out 
of  the  scheme;  the  making  of  agreements  by  the  local  authorities 
with  owners  and  by  owners  with  each  other;  the  right  of  the  local 


City  Planning  Legislation  331 


authorities  to  accept  any  money  or  property  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  object  of  any  town  planning  scheme,  and  the  regulation 
of  the  administration  of  such  money  or  property;  the  hmita- 
tion  of  time  for  the  operation  of  the  scheme;  the  co-operation  of 
the  local  authorities  with  the  owners  of  land  included  in  the 
scheme;  and  the  imposition  upon  land  whose  value  is  increased 
by  the  operation  of  a  town  planning  scheme  of  the  sum  to  be 
paid  on  account  of  that  increase  in  value. 

In  addition  to  these  general  provisions  there  may  be  incor- 
porated in  any  scheme  special  provisions  defining  the  area  and 
the  responsible  authority  and  especially  deaUng  with  local 
conditions,  and  these  special  provisions  may  vary  or  supersede 
not  only  the  general  provisions,  but  even  acts  of  Parhament, 
although  when  any  general  act  of  Parhament  is  thus  contravened, 
special  opportunity  is  given  either  house  by  resolution  to  reject 
the  scheme  before  it  is  finally  approved. 

A  town  planning  scheme  may  originate  in  any  one  of  three 
different  ways: 

1.  Land-owners  may  formulate  a  scheme  which  the  Local 
Government  Board  may  authorize  or  after  public  inquiry  may 
compel  the  local  authority  to  adopt. 

2.  Any  representation  may  be  made  to  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  that  a  scheme  ought  to  be  prepared  by  a  local 
authority,  and  the  board  may,  after  pubHc  inquiry,  order  a 
scheme  to  be  so  prepared. 

3.  A  local  authority  may  prepare  a  scheme  if  a  prima  facie 
case  is  made  out  and  the  sanction  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  obtained. 

The  responsible  authorities  are  given  abundant  power  to 
enforce  a  proposed  scheme  by  removing  any  building  or  work 
executed  in  contravention  of  the  scheme  before  it  is  approved, 
but  after  the  date  of  apphcation  to  prepare,  without  compen- 
sation to  the  owner,  and  by  carrying  out  at  the  expense  of  the 
person  in  default  any  work  which  is  so  delayed  as  to  prejudice 
the  plan,  and  the  responsible  authorities  may  be  compelled  by 
the  Local  Government  Board  to  exercise  these  powers. 


332  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  expenses  incurred  by  a  local  authority  may  fall  under 
three  different  heads: 

1.  The  cost  of  preparing  and  promoting  a  scheme.  The  act 
contains  no  provision  as  to  this  expense  beyond  the  fact  that  it 
will  be  charged  in  the  general  tax  of  the  district. 

2.  The  cost  of  acquiring  land  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
out  a  scheme.  Compulsory  powers  of  purchase  may  be  exer- 
cised by  order  of  the  Local  Government  Board  without  statu- 
tory confirmation,  unless  an  impartial  public  inquiry  shows 
that  the  land  is  unsuited  for  the  required  purpose  or  cannot 
be  acquired  without  undue  detriment,  in  which  case  any  order 
made  by  the  Local  Government  Board  must  be  confirmed  by 
Parliament.  The  price  to  be  paid  for  land  compulsorily  acquired 
is  to  be  determined  by  a  single  Local  Government  Board  arbi- 
trator, and  no  additional  allowance  will  be  made  by  reason 
of  the  purchase  being  compulsory. 

3.  Compensation  may  be  allowed  the  land-owners  for  injury, 
and  this  compensation  is  to  be  determined  by  a  single  Local 
Government  Board  arbitrator;  but  no  allowance  is  to  be  made 
for  the  limitation  which  an  adopted  scheme  may  impose  as  to 
the  number,  height,  or  character  of  the  buildings  which  may 
be  erected,  subject  to  such  Hmitation  being  considered  reason- 
able by  the  Local  Government  Board,  nor  for  any  requirement 
of  a  scheme  which  could  be  enforced  under  by-laws,  nor  for 
anything  done  after  application  has  been  made  for  the  right 
to  prepare  a  scheme.  The  principle  of  betterment  is  also 
recognized  to  the  extent  of  one-half  the  increase  in  the  value 
of  property  affected  by  the  scheme. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  powers  conferred  upon  the  Local 
Government  Board  by  the  Town  Planning  Act  are  extraordinary 
and  perhaps  unprecedented,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  act  will  depend  to  a  large  degree  upon  the 
manner  in  which  that  power  is  exercised. 

A  conspicuous  difference  between  the  English  practice  as 
indicated  by  the  Liverpool  act  of  1908  and  the  general  town 
planning  law  of  1909,  and  that  prevailing  in  the  United  States, 


City  Planning  Legislation  333 

is  that  in  the  city  of  Liverpool  no  compensation  need  be  allowed 
for  land  taken  in  excess  of  80  ft.  for  a  principal  highway  and 
36  ft.  for  a  local  street,  while  the  municipal  authorities  have 
power  to  compel  the  setting  back  of  buildings  one-tenth  the  width 
of  the  street  without  compensation,  and  that  under  the  town 
planning  law  the  determination  of  the  amount  to  be  paid  for  land 
taken  and  the  amount  of  damage  for  injury  rests  with  a  single 
arbitrator  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  while  no  additional 
allowance  is  made  for  the  fact  that  the  purchase  is  compulsory 
or  for  the  imposition  of  Umitations  as  to  the  number,  height 
and  character  of  the  buildings  which  the  owner  may  erect.  Such 
provisions  as  these  are  almost  unknown  in  America  and 
would  probably  be  considered  grossly  unfair;  and  yet,  where  the 
taking  of  land  for  streets  will  convert  acreage  property  into  city 
lots  and  make  them  marketable  as  such,  it  is  difi&cult  to  see  why 
any  substantial  compensation  should  be  made  for  the  land  so 
taken,  while  in  the  proceedings  to  determine  the  awards  to 
be  made  for  land  taken  for  this  purpose  the  amounts  allowed 
have  in  many  cases  been  so  extravagant  that  there  is  a  natural 
reaction  against  the  results  secured  through  commissions  com- 
posed of  "  three  discreet  and  disinterested  persons,"  and  the 
British  act  attempts  to  cure  this  trouble  by  placing  the  deter- 
mination in  the  hands  of  a  single  individual. 

The  year  19 13  was  especially  productive  of  city  planning 
legislation.  The  Province  of  Alberta,  Canada,  enacted  such  a 
law,  the  general  provisions  of  which,  as  described  by  Hon. 
James  W.  Davidson,  President  of  the  Calgary  Plan  Commission, 
at  the  Conference  on  City  Planning  held  at  Chicago  in  May, 
1913,  will  be  briefly  outlined: 

A  town  planning  scheme  can  be  prepared  for  the  whole  area  of  any 
city  and  may  even  comprise  land  outside  the  city  limits,  while  the  minister 
of  municipaUties  may  approve  a  part  of  the  scheme  in  case  he  does  not  wish 
to  approve  all.  A  scheme,  once  adopted,  may  be  varied  or  revoked  in 
case  future  progress  renders  it  desirable  to  do  so. 

A  town  planning  scheme  when  approved  by  the  minister  shall  have 
effect  as  if  it  were  specially  enacted  by  law.    This  means  that,  once  a 


334  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

scheme  is  approved,  all  future  subdivisions,  streets,  buildings,  etc.,  must 
be  in  accordance  with  the  approved  scheme. 

The  act  defines  who  shaU  be  the  authority  responsible  for  carrying 
out  the  town  planning  scheme.  Such  authority  may  be,  as  in  the  case 
of  Edmonton,  the  city  council  itself,  or  it  may  be,  as  in  the  case  of  Calgary, 
a  commission  appointed  by  the  city  council,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  minister  of  municipahties.  Regulations  may  be  adopted  for  carrying 
out  the  objects  of  the  scheme.  No  such  regulations  have  yet  been  approved, 
and  Mr.  Davidson  expresses  the  opinion  that  it  will  take  the  combined 
wisdom  of  the  wisest  of  the  world  to  make  this  standard  set  of  regulations. 
In  the  meantime,  the  plans  are  prepared  in  accordance  with  the  by-laws 
of  the  different  cities  respecting  buUdings,  sewerage,  etc. 

Any  money  necessary  can  be  borrowed  by  debentures,  the  same  as  for 
any  other  city  purpose.  They  can  be  paid  back  either  n  a  lump  sum  or 
by  annual  instalments  or  by  means  of  a  special  local  improvement  tax, 
the  same  as  is  done  in  the  case  of  pavements  and  sidewalks. 

A  special  provision  to  cover  the  case  of  Calgary  and  other  cities  allows 
$20,000  to  be  paid  for  preliminary  plans  out  of  the  current  revenue  without 
a  vote  of  the  people.  In  case  the  scheme  should  fail  of  ultimate  approval, 
there  wotild  otherwise  be  no  money  with  which  to  pay  the  person  or 
persons  preparing  the  scheme. 

Any  person  whose  property  is  injuriously  affected  by  the  scheme 
shall  be  entitled  to  fuU  compensation  if  he  files  his  claim  with  reasonable 
promptness.  If  lands  are  increased  in  value  by  the  carrying  out  of  the 
scheme,  the  owner  gets  one-half  of  the  increase  and  the  city  the  other 
half.  This  is  taking  the  unearned  increment  in  accordance  with  the 
English  theory  of  land  taxation.  One  beneficial  result  expected  from  this 
provision  is  that  local  jealousies  will  be  avoided,  the  ratepayers  knowing 
that,  although  the  improvement  will  be  of  local  benefit,  half  of  the  benefit 
will  be  reaped  by  the  city  at  large,  while  those  who  most  directly  profit 
by  it  are  Hable  to  a  charge  against  their  property.  This  half  of  the 
increased  value,  if  not  recovered  by  the  ordinary  method  of  taxation  or 
by  sale  of  the  lands,  may  be  recovered  through  an  action  at  law. 

The  number  of  buildings  on  a  given  area  can  be  hmited;  the  space 
about  buildings,  the  character  and  height  of  buildings  may  be  prescribed; 
a  reservation  of  vacant  land  for  parks  and  open  spaces  in  all  new  sub- 
divisions up  to  5  per  cent  of  their  area  may  be  made;  all  without  giving 
the  land-owner  claim  for  compensation. 

In  cases  of  expropriation  the  city  takes  at  the  value  existing  before 
the  town  planning  scheme  came  into  effect.  This  is  designed  to  prevent 
owners  from  holding  up  the  city  for  fictitious  values.  On  account  of  the 
publicity  attached  to  all  city  enterprises,  options  cannot  be  taken  as  in 


City  Planning  Legislation  335 


private  business;   but  the  act  provides  that  the  city  can  purchase  at  the 
original  value. 

The  minister  of  municipalities  may  force  any  backward  city  to  make 
or  execute  a  town  planning  scheme.  He  may  also  certify  that  the  deben- 
tures by-laws  of  a  city  issuing  its  obligations  to  meet  the  expenses  of  pre- 
paring a  scheme  are  correct,  and  then  no  court  can  question  their  legality. 

The  Canadian  Conservation  Commission  has  drafted  a  gen- 
eral town  planning  act  to  apply  to  any  province  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  which  may  adopt  it,  which  was  presented  to  and 
discussed  at  the  Conference  on  City  Planning  held  at  Toronto 
in  May,  19 14.  This  act  is  to  be  administered  under  the  Depart- 
ment of  Municipal  Affairs  by  a  town  planning  board  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor  in  council  and  consisting 
of  a  town  planning  comptroller,  who  shall  be  a  permanent  and 
paid  executive  official  skilled  in  town  planning,  and  who  shall 
act  as  chairman  of  the  board,  a  deputy  provincial  treasurer, 
a  provincial  health  officer,  architect,  engineer  and  deputy 
attorney-general,  all  of  whom,  except  the  comptroller,  shall 
be  members  of  the  central  board  ex-officiis,  but  none  of  whom, 
except  the  comptroller,  shall  receive  additional  compensation 
other  than  for  disbursements. 

Every  municipal  authority  is  authorized  to  create  a  local 
housing  and  town  planning  board  consisting  of  the  mayor, 
the  municipal  engineer  and  health  officer,  and  not  less  than 
two  rate-payers,  to  be  appointed  for  two  years,  one  of  whom 
shall  preferably  be  an  architect  and  the  other  a  financier.  This 
board  shall  have  power  to  acquire,  receive,  hold,  sell,  lease  and 
dispose  of  lands  and  any  interest  therein.  The  municipal 
authority  creating  this  board  shall  also  have  the  power  to  appoint 
a  housing  and  town  planning  commissioner,  who  shall  be  the 
executive  officer  of  the  local  board.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
such  local  board  to  prepare  and  constantly  keep  up  a  compre- 
hensive plan  of  the  whole  territory,  showing  tentative  schemes 
both  in  its  developed  and  undeveloped  portions  for  facihtating 
the  advancement  of  permanent  improvements  in  sanitation, 
transportation,   conservation    and    beautification    of   the  mu- 


336  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

nicipality.  The  proposed  general  act  further  provides  that 
expenses  incurred  in  preparing  a  scheme  shall  be  paid  out  of 
current  revenue  or  from  the  proceeds  of  a  special  tax  which  shall 
not  exceed  one-fiftieth  of  one  per  cent  of  the  assessed  values  of 
municipalities  having  a  population  of  under  200,000,  and  one 
one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent  of  the  assessed  value  in  the  case 
of  municipalities  having  over  200,000  population.  The  act  in 
general  appears  to  be  based  upon  the  British  Town  Planning 
Act  of  1909,  the  procedure  of  which  is  somewhat  simplified, 
while  in  other  respects  it  closely  follows  the  Alberta  Act. 

The  state  of  New  Jersey  in  1913  enacted  a  law  providing  that 
the  mayor  of  any  city  of  the  first  class  may  appoint  a  city  plan 
commission  to  consist  of  not  more  than  nine  citizens,  while  any 
commissions  already  existing  shall  be  continued,  but  with  the 
powers  and  duties  which  are  conferred  by  the  act  upon  com- 
missions which  may  be  created  under  it.  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  such  commissions  to  prepare  from  time  to  time  plans  for  the 
systematic  and  further  development  of  the  city.  They  may  con- 
sider and  investigate  any  subject  tending  to  the  development 
and  betterment  of  the  city  and  make  such  recommendations 
as  they  may  deem  advisable  concerning  the  adoption  thereof 
to  any  department  of  the  municipal  government.  All  questions 
concerning  the  location  and  architectural  design  of  any  work 
of  art,  statue  or  memorial  within  the  city  must  be  referred  to 
this  commission  for  its  consideration  and  report  before  final 
action  is  taken.  All  plats  or  replats  of  land  within  the  city 
limits  must  be  submitted  to  the  commission  before  they  are 
approved,  although  approval  by  the  commission  does  not 
seem  to  be  required. 

The  state  of  New  York  also  enacted  city  planning  legisla- 
tion in  1 9 13.  The  New  York  act  authorizes  any  city  or  incor- 
porated village  to  create  a  city  or  village  planning  commission, 
such  commissions  in  cities  of  the  first  class  to  consist  of  not  more 
than  eleven,  in  cities  of  the  second  class  of  not  more  than  nine, 
and  in  cities  of  the  third  class  and  incorporated  villages  of  not 
more  than  seven  members,  and  not  more  than  one-third  of  the 


City  Planning  Legislation  337 

members  in  any  commission  shall  hold  any  other  public  office. 
The  body  creating  such  planning  commissions  may  at  any  time 
provide  that  the  following  matters,  or  any  one  or  more  of  them, 
shall  be  referred  to  such  commission  by  the  municipal  board 
or  officer  having  final  authority  before  action  shall  be  taken, 
namely : 

The  adoption  of  any  map  or  plan,  including  plans  for  drainage,  sewers, 
water  systems  or  water-front  development  or  public  structures  thereon. 

The  location  of  public  buildings,  bridges,  statues  or  monuments,  high- 
ways, parks,  playgrounds,  or  any  other  public  open  spaces. 

There  are  two  excellent  features  of  this  act.  One  of  them 
provides  that  the  plan  commission  may  cause  a  map  or  maps 
to  be  made  not  only  of  the  city  or  village  or  any  portion  thereof, 
but  of  land  outside  the  limits  of  the  city  or  village  which  may  be 
so  near  or  so  closely  related  thereto  that  in  the  opinion  of  the 
commission  it  should  be  so  mapped.  The  other  attempts  to 
control  the  platting  and  sale  of  land  by  private  individuals, 
and  provides  that  ordinances  may  be  adopted  forbidding  the 
receipt  for  record  or  the  filing  in  any  office  of  public  record  of 
any  plan  or  plat  showing  the  layout  of  any  highway  or  street 
upon  private  property  or  of  building  lines  in  connection  with 
or  in  relation  to  such  highway  or  street  until  a  copy  of  the  plan, 
plat  or  description  shall  have  been  filed  with  the  commission,  and 
it  shall  have  certified  its  approval  thereof,  such  certificate  of 
approval  being  recorded  as  a  part  of  the  record  of  the  original 
instrument  containing  such  plat  or  description.  This  provision, 
of  course,  does  not  apply  to  cases  where  a  plan  is  in  accordance 
with  a  map  of  the  portion  of  the  city  in  which  it  is  located  which 
shall  already  have  been  adopted  by  competent  authority. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
PROGRESS  AND  METHODS 

HAVING  outlined  some  of  the  most  important  legislation 
relative  to  city  planning,  it  may  be  well  to  review  some 
of  the  progress  made  under  these  laws  and  the  methods  which 
have  been  followed  to  secure  results  either  by  means  of  them  or 
without  the  aid  of  special  statutes.  Much  was  accompHshed 
before  the  people  began  to  talk  about  such  a  thing  as  city  plan- 
ning. It  was  realized  that  conditions  were  bad,  that  cities 
were  ugly,  that  the  cost  of  conducting  business,  both  pubHc 
and  private,  was  needlessly  great,  and  there  were  insistent 
demands  for  the  improvement  of  these  conditions  both  with 
respect  to  the  physical  plan  of  the  city  and  the  administration 
of  its  pubUc  business.  We  often  fail  to  reahze  what  great  prog- 
ress has  been  made,  and  that  the  object  lessons  thus  afforded 
have  been  the  greatest  stimulus  to  demands  for  something  still 
better.  Perhaps  there  are  New  Yorkers  who  regret  the  passing 
of  the  old  days  before  the  advent  of  the  tall  building,  and  think 
that  the  city  must  then  have  been  far  more  picturesque  and 
interesting.  Let  us  see  what  the  principal  street  of  New  York 
looked  like  in  those  days.  In  1847  there  was  pubHshed  under 
the  title  of  "  New  York  in  Slices  "  a  collection  of  sketches  which 
had  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York 
Tribune.  In  one  of  these  wiU  be  found  the  foUomng  descrip- 
tion of  Broadway: 

Broadway  narrowly  escapes  being  the  most  magnificent  street  in  the 
world.  If  the  money  expended  upon  it  architecturally  had  been  guided  by 
half  a  grain  of  true  taste  or  common  sense  the  effect  would  have  been  per- 
fectly glorious.  As  it  is  we  have  the  chaotic  elements  of  a  noble  avenue,  the 
contemplation  of  which  gives  us  more  pain  than  pleasure.  ...     A  few 

338 


Progress  and  Methods  339 

really  fine  structures  here  and  there  meet  the  eye,  but  they  appear  like 
exhalations  from  an  incredible  extent  of  rubbish.  A  long,  low  row  of  un- 
meaning outHnes  and  angles  that  geometry  would  blush  to  own;  here  a 
brick  schoolhouse,  there  a  clapboard  barn;  now  a  penitentiary,  and  then 
a  pound;  now  stumbling  over  a  rotten  cellar  door,  and  anon  walking 
through  an  obtrusive  plate-glass  window,  stuffed  with  gaudy  cashmeres 
and  mildewed  muslins:  this  is  the  external  appearance  of  Broadway. 
You  search  in  vain  for  even  some  faint  acknowledgment  of  the  line  of 
proportion  and  continuation,  and  involuntarily  wish  for  darkness  to  conceal 
the  jagged  and  unfinished  upper  story  of  magnificent  Broadway.  .  .  .  But 
notwithstanding  these  glaring  defects  of  taste,  Broadway  is,  as  times  go, 
a  very  noble  street,  altogether  the  most  showy,  the  most  crowded  and  the 
richest  fashionable  thoroughfare  on  the  continent,  and  surpassed  by  not 
more  than  three  or  four  in  Europe. 

Speaking  of  the  early  morning  on  Broadway,  the  writer  says : 

You  look  around  with  a  feeling  of  almost  uneasiness.  It  does  not 
seem  that  this  is  the  noisy,  rattling,  bustling,  flashing,  joyous  Broadway 
to  which  your  steps  are  accustomed.  Soon,  however,  the  sidewalks  begin 
to  fill  with  the  clerks  and  early  workers  trudging  downtown  to  begin  their 
day.  The  awakened  swine  gallop  furiously  downward  to  have  the  first 
cut  of  the  new  garbage  which,  despite  the  City  Fathers,  is  sure  to  have 
been  deposited  in  the  gutters.  In  an  hour  or  two  the  great  thoroughfare 
will  be  alive  and  the  whole  city  will  go  surging  and  thundering  through  it. 

Although  due  allowance  be  made  for  the  extravagance  of 
the  writer  of  special  articles  for  publication  in  the  newspapers, 
the  picture  drawn  by  him  was  doubtless  reasonably  accurate, 
and  the  improvement  in  the  physical  aspect  of  Broadway  will 
be  readily  acknowledged,  an  improvement  which  took  place  long 
before  city  planning  as  we  now  understand  it  was  heard  of. 
In  Chapter  III  the  conditions  which  once  prevailed  in  and 
about  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  were  described,  but  London  set 
about  correcting  them  generations  before  the  British  Town 
Planning  Act  was  dreamed  of.  The  difference  between  these 
local  and  spasmodic  efforts  to  better  conditions  and  the  move- 
ment which  has  lately  become  so  general  is  the  difference  be- 
tween cure  and  prevention.  The  cure  has  been  found  to  be 
frightfully  expensive,  while  prevention  is  cheap.     It  is  true, 


340  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

as  has  so  frequently  been  stated  in  the  preceding  pages,  that, 
while  much  attention  has  been  given  to  the  operation  of  curing 
and  many  costly  remedies  have  been  suggested,  preventive 
action  has  been  comparatively  rare  even  when  there  are  abundant 
symptoms  of  coming  disorder.  The  British  Town  Planning 
Act  being  the  most  conspicuous  piece  of  city  planning  legislation 
yet  enacted,  and  being  especially  designed  to  promote  construc- 
tive planning  and  having  a  preventive  rather  than  a  curative 
purpose,  let  us  see  what  has  resulted  from  it.  According  to  a 
review  of  the  progress  made  in  town  planning  under  the  act 
which  appeared  in  the  Town  Planning  Review  for  April,  19 14, 
50  separate  local  authorities  had  at  that  time  made  substantial 
progress  in  developing  their  schemes,  there  being  then  fully 
approved  or  pending  66  plans  or  schemes  covering  an  area 
of  110,926  acres.  The  stages  to  which  these  plans  had  been 
advanced  varied  greatly.  In  two  instances  only  had  they  been 
entirely  consummated  and  approved.  In  three  cases  the  plans 
had  been  completed  and  submitted  for  approval.  In  47  the 
local  authorities  had  been  authorized  to  prepare  the  schemes, 
and  in  14  instances  application  had  been  made  for  authority  to 
prepare  a  scheme.  Besides  the  50  authorities  which  had  taken 
positive  steps  in  this  direction,  17  others  had  issued  prelimi- 
nary notices,  and  in  119  cases  the  agitation  had  proceeded  so 
far  that  decision  to  issue  notices  of  intention  to  apply  for  au- 
thority had  been  reached.  The  two  schemes  which  had  been 
completed  and  received  final  approval  covered  a  combined  area 
of  3762  acres.  The  three  in  which  the  schemes  had  been  com- 
pleted and  submitted  for  approval  covered  6503  acres.  Of  the 
47  schemes  where  preparation  of  plans  had  been  authorized,  27, 
with  a  combined  area  of  31,830  acres,  were  presented  by  town 
councils,  fifteen,  covering  an  area  of  22,364  acres,  were  pre- 
sented by  urban  district  councils,  and  five,  covering  17,703  acres, 
were  put  forward  by  rural  district  councils.  Of  the  14  applica- 
tions for  authority  to  prepare  schemes,  four,  covering  an  area  of 
5621  acres,  were  made  by  town  councils;  four,  covering  7862 
acres,  by  urban  district  councils,  and  the  remaining  six,  covering  a 


Progress  and  Methods  341 

combined  area  of  16,728  acres,  by  rural  district  councils.  This 
is  certainly  an  excellent  record  of  progress,  especially  when  the 
disposition  of  the  British  thoroughly  to  debate  any  proposed 
improvement  is  taken  into  account.  Some  of  the  schemes  cover 
very  limited  areas,  two  of  them  including  but  six  acres  each, 
five  others  less  than  100  acres  and  six  between  200  and  500 
acres.  Twenty-eight  of  the  schemes  cover  areas  of  more  than 
1000  acres  each,  while  the  largest  single  scheme,  which  was  pro- 
posed by  one  of  the  town  councils,  included  6378  acres.  The 
administrative  units  in  the  metropoHtan  area  about  London  are 
small.  Mr.  Thomas  Adams  notes  that  at  conferences  on  arterial 
roads  and  town  planning  held  in  London  there  were  represen- 
tatives of  1 1 7  local  authorities  in  Greater  London  and  some  20 
local  authorities  just  outside  the  metropolitan  area,  and  that 
the  total  area  represented  comprised  about  1083  square  miles 
or  693,120  acres,  having  in  1901  a  population  of  6,829,803, 
which  in  191 1  had  increased  to  7,553,400. 

He  further  points  out  that  of  the  117  authorities  in  Greater 
London,  83  are  concerned  with  the  administration  of  the  Town 
Planning  Act,  so  that  the  planning  of  Greater  London  will  have 
to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  from  80  to  90  schemes  dealing 
with  from  100  to  200  different  areas  of  land.  There  must  be 
some  local  rivalries  and  jealousies  between  the  councils  of  these 
districts,  and  if  they  can,  each  one  doing  its  share,  work  out  a 
comprehensive  plan  for  future  development,  each  part  of  which 
will  fit  reasonably  well  into  the  whole,  the  Town  Planning  Act 
will  have  abundantly  justified  itself. 

It  may  be  asked  just  what  these  schemes  attempt  to  do, 
how  far  they  go  and  what  is  the  nature  of  the  restrictions  or 
regulations  which  they  impose  upon  owners  of  property.  This 
can  best  be  answered  by  giving  a  specific  instance,  which  the 
author  is  able  to  do  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Adams.  One 
of  the  schemes  which  has  been  well  advanced  is  that  put  forward 
by  the  Ruislip-Northwood  Urban  District  Council,  the  pro- 
visions of  which  include  many  minute  details  both  with  respect 
to  the  things  that  the  owners  of  property  may  or  may  not  do  and 


342  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

the  things  that  the  local  authorities  may  or  shall  do.  The 
territory  covered  by  this  scheme  is  northwest  of  London  proper, 
in  Middlesex  County,  and  on  the  outer  edge  of  what  is  known 
as  Greater  London.  In  includes  an  area  of  5906  acres,  and  the 
following  summary  of  the  principal  provisions  of  the  scheme  as 
amended  by  the  Local  Government  Board  and  sent  to  the 
District  Council  to  be  deposited  for  one  month,  in  accordance 
with  town  planning  procedure  regulations,  will  indicate  the 
general  scope  of  the  plan : 

Limitation  of  Number  of  Buildings  to  the  Acre.  In  order  to  deal 
with  the  question  of  the  Hmitation  of  the  number  of  houses  to  the  acre,  the 
map  of  the  area  is  divided  into  sections  of  about  five  acres.  On  these  sec- 
tions, which  are  known  as  land  units,  an  average  of  four,  six,  eight  or  twelve 
buildings  to  the  acre,  roads  included,  must  not  be  exceeded,  the  number 
of  buildings  being  designated  for  each  section.  These  Umitations  of  the 
number  of  buildings  per  acre  are  to  be  averaged  over  the  whole  land  imit, 
but  as  many  as  20  buildings  may  be  built  on  any  single  acre.  In  the 
case  of  a  dwelling  house  being  adapted  for  occupation  by  more  than  two, 
and  not  more  than  four  families,  such  dwelling  house  shaU  be  reckoned 
as  two  buildings.  If  adapted  for  occupation  by  more  than  four  families 
it  shall  be  reckoned  as  three  buildings. 

Height  and  Character  of  Buildings.  With  the  exception  of  public 
buildings  and  buildings  of  a  warehouse  class,  no  building  shall  be  erected  of 
a  greater  height  than  60  ft.  (exclusive  of  stories  in  the  roof,  etc.)  or  shall  be 
of  greater  height  than  the  distance  from  the  main  front  wall  to  the  opposite 
boundary  of  the  street.  For  the  purpose  of  describing  the  character  of  the 
buildings  to  be  erected,  various  special  areas  on  the  map  are  colored  pink 
and  yellow.  No  building  of  the  warehouse  class  shall  be  erected  except 
within  a  specified  area,  and  no  buildings  except  those  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose of,  or  adapted  to  be  used  as,  shops  or  business  premises  shall  be  erected 
except  within  certain  areas  which  include  the  warehouse  area. 

The  rest  of  the  land  included  in  the  scheme  is  limited  to  private  and 
professional  buildings.  The  Council  may,  however,  on  apphcation, 
consent  to  the  carrying  on  of  handicrafts  and  the  selling  of  the  products 
thereof,  but  none  of  the  products  or  materials  used  shall  be  exposed  in  the 
windows.  Buildings  to  be  used  for  agricultural  or  horticultural  purposes 
may,  however,  be  erected  on  any  part  of  the  area.  In  regard  to  the  design 
of  the  buildings  to  be  erected,  if  the  Council  are  of  opinion  that  the  char- 
acter of  the  buildings  proposed  to  be  erected,  whether  on  account  of  the 
design  or  the  xmdue  repetition  of  the  design,  or  the  materials  to  be  used 


Progress  and  Methods  343 

would  be  injurious  to  the  amenity  of  the  neighborhood,  the  Council  may, 
subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  Local  Government  Board,  require  reasonable 
alterations  to  be  made. 

Provisions  are  also  made  as  to  height  of  windows  in  room  and  it  is  also 
provided  that  no  bedroom  or  other  habitable  room  shall  have  a  floor  area 
of  less  than  70  sq.  ft.  or  contain  less  than  500  cu.ft.  Every  new  dwelhng 
house  shall  be  provided  with  at  least  one  living  room  with  a  floor  space 
of  not  less  than  144  sq.  ft.  and  containing  not  less  than  1132  cu.  ft.,  and 
one  bedroom  having  a  floor  area  of  not  less  than  132  sq.  ft.  and  containing 
not  less  then  1000  cu.  ft. 

Space  about  Buildings.  Where  building  lines  are  shown  upon  the  map 
no  erection  other  than  boundary  walls  or  fences  shall  be  permitted  nearer 
to  the  street  than  such  building  line.  In  streets  where  no  buUding  line 
is  shown  on  the  map  no  building  other  than  boundary  walls  or  fences  shall 
be  erected  nearer  to  the  center  of  the  street  than  30  ft.,  or  nearer  to  the 
boundary  of  the  street  than  15  ft.  This  is,  however,  subject  to  modi- 
fication in  the  case  of  dwelling  houses  erected  around  a  quadrangle  or 
other  open  space.  Special  provisions  are  also  made  in  regard  to  public 
buildings,  buildings  on  corner  sites,  shops,  etc.  In  the  case  of  shops, 
warehouses,  schools,  etc.,  such  buildings  shall  not  cover  more  than  half 
of  the  whole  area  of  the  site.  In  the  case  of  dwelhng  houses  not  more 
than  one-fourth  of  the  whole  site  shall  be  covered  by  buildings,  though  in 
exceptional  cases  it  is  provided  that  one-third  of  the  site  may  be  so 
covered. 

Open  Spaces.  Certain  open  spaces  indicated  on  the  plan  are  set  apart, 
some  for  the  purpose  of  allotments,  some  for  public  buildings,  some  as 
pubhc  open  spaces  and  some  for  private  open  spaces.  The  private  open 
spaces  shall  be  maintained  in  good  order  and,  when  required  by  the  Council 
shall  be  fenced  by  and  at  the  expense  of  the  owner.  If  such  private 
open  spaces  or  the  fences  thereof  are  neglected  the  Council  can  do  any 
works  necessary  and  recover  the  cost  from  the  owner. 

Streets.  A  number  of  new  streets  are  shown  on  the  map,  and  the 
widening  of  a  number  of  existing  streets  is  also  shown.  In  respect  of  any 
of  the  new  streets  shown  on  the  map  to  be  made  of  a  greater  width  than 
40  ft.,  no  owner  shall  be  required  to  bear  any  greater  expense  in  the 
erection  of  street  works  than  that  of  the  width  of  40  ft.  Any  greater 
expense  shall  be  borne  by  the  Council.  Various  provisions  are  included 
in  the  scheme  relative  to  the  widening  of  existing  streets.  It  is  also 
provided  that  the  Council  may  enter  into  agreements  with  owners  as  to 
the  adjustment  of  boundaries.  A  clause  relative  to  the  compulsory  ad- 
justment of  boundaries  is  also  embodied  in  the  scheme. 

Anyone  laying  out  a  new  street  in  which    no  buildings    other  than 


344  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


dwelling  houses  are  proposed  to  be  erected,  may  construct  such  street 
26  ft.  in  width  if  the  following  conditions  are  compHed  with: 

(a)  The  streets  shall  not  be  more  than  900  ft.  in  length. 

(6)  Turning  places  shall  be  provided  every  450  ft. 

(c)  The  street  shall  communicate  at  each  end  with  a  street  40  ft.  or 
more  in  width,  and  must  not  be  in  direct  continuation  of  such  a  street; 
provided  that  it  may  communicate  with  any  old  highway  of  less  width 
than  40  ft.  which  is  existing  at  the  present  time. 

(d)  The  surface  of  the  road  shall  be  made  of  the  same  strength  and 
materials  as  are  required  for  by  law  streets. 

Further  relaxation  of  by-law  requirements  as  to  width  of  streets  is 
to  be  given  to  owners  who,  when  developing  their  land  are  prepared  to  set 
aside  one-tenth  of  the  area  of  such  land  as  public  or  private  open  spaces. 
These  relaxations  are: 

(a)  A  street  not  exceeding  350  ft.  in  length  may  be  constructed  of  a 
width  of  not  less  than  20  ft. 

(b)  A  street  not  exceeding  750  ft.  in  length  may  be  constructed  of  a 
width  of  not  less  than  24  ft. 

(c)  A  street  not  exceeding  1500  ft.  in  length  may  be  constructed  of 
a  width  of  not  less  than  30  ft. 

In  all  cases  the  provisions  named  above  relating  to  turning  places, 
communications,  etc.,  shall  apply. 

Dwelling  houses  may  be  arranged  around  quadrangles,  and  in  this 
case  a  street  of  not  less  than  seven  feet  in  width  may  be  allowed,  provided 
that  it  is  not  more  than  500  ft.  in  length  and  communicates  with  a  street 
not  less  than  24  ft.  in  width  or  with  an  existing  highway.  The  space 
within  the  quadrangle  may  be  laid  out  as  gardens  or  as  forecourts.  No 
fence  fronting  on  the  quadrangle  may  be  more  than  3  ft.  6  in.  in  height. 

The  Council  may  construct  any  of  the  new  streets  as  shown  on  the 
map  at  any  time  on  giving  six  months'  notice  to  the  owners  of  their  inten- 
tion. The  expenses  of  making  the  streets  shall  be  deemed  to  be  expenses 
of  private  street  works,  and  the  Council  shall  have  power  to  apportion  the 
expenses  on  all  the  lands  and  premises  access  to  which  is  derived  from  such 
street,  and  which  in  the  opinion  of  the  Council  will  be  benefited  by  such 
street.  The  Council  may  prescribe  a  period  of  time  in  which  such  sums 
shall  be  made  payable,  and  in  doing  so  shall  take  into  consideration  the 
time  at  which  the  construction  of  such  street  will  be  of  benefit  to  the  per- 
sons called  upon  to  pay.  There  is  a  right  of  appeal  by  any  person  aggrieved 
by  the  decision  of  the  Council.  An  important  provision  is  that  no  front- 
ager shall  be  called  upon  to  pay  for  any  street  works  until  his  land  has  been 
used  for  other  than  the  purpose  of  agriculture,  unless  he  has  previously 
given  his  consent  in  writing  to  such  charge  being  made  upon  him. 


Progress  and  Methods  345 

Any  owner  or  owners  of  land  over  which  a  new  street  exceeding  40  ft.  in 
width  is  shown  on  the  map  to  be  constructed  may,  where  such  street  or  part 
thereof  will,  when  constructed,  communicate  at  each  end  with  a  highway 
reparable  by  the  inhabitants  at  large,  give  to  the  Council  six  months'  notice 
in  writing  requiring  the  Council  to  construct  the  said  new  street  or  the 
said  part  thereof,  and  the  Council  must  with  reasonable  speed  after  the 
expiration  of  such  notice  construct  the  said  street  or  the  said  part  thereof. 
When  any  plan  for  a  new  street  is  submitted  the  Council  may,  by  notice 
in  writing,  call  upon  the  owners  of  any  lands,  the  development  of  which 
in  their  opinion  may  be  affected  by  such  street,  for  plans  and  particulars 
showing  generally  the  scheme  for  the  laying  out  of  such  estate  or  lands. 
Provision  is  made  for  the  modification  of  the  position  or  construction  of 
any  of  the  porposed  new  streets  by  an  appeal  to  the  Local  Government 
Board.  Such  modifications  shall  not  be  made  unless  all  owners  affected 
agree. 

NmsANCES.  All  private  gardens,  allotments,  or  private  open  spaces, 
shall  be  kept  in  such  a  state  as  not  to  be  a  nuisance  or  annoyance  to 
persons  using  the  highway  or  to  neighbors.  The  Council  may  take  steps 
to  abate  such  nuisances  and  may  recover  the  costs  from  any  person  served 
with  notice.  To  prevent  untidiness  or  irregularity  the  Council  may  by 
agreements  with  owners  lay  out,  plant  and  fence  the  forecourts  abutting 
upon  a  street  at  the  cost  of  the  Council  or  the  owners  or  of  both,  as  may 
be  agreed  upon.  No  person  is  allowed  to  fix  or  use  advertisements  upon 
buildings,  hoardings  or  frame  work  so  as  to  interfere  with  the  amenity 
of  the  neighborhood. 

The  Local  Government  Board  decid'^d  that  the  restrictions 
as  to  height  and  character  of  buildings  and  space  about  buildings 
are  so  reasonable  that  no  compensation  will  be  allowed  the 
owners  of  the  property  by  reason  of  such  restrictions. 

While  no  other  country  has  had  such  complete  legislation  and 
machinery  for  operating  under  it  as  has  Great  Britain,  notable 
progress  has  been  made  under  special  acts  and  through  the 
organized  effort  of  private  citizens  and  civic  bodies.  As  has 
elsewhere  been  noted,  city  planning  is  a  tradition  in  most  of 
the  countries  of  Continental  Europe,  and  we  must  look  to  the 
United  States  for  instances  of  recent  achievement.  These  are 
so  numerous — some  of  the  projects  having  already  been  carried 
out,  some  now  in  progress,  others  worked  out  in  detail  but  not 
yet  begun,  and  still  others  under  discussion — that  only  a  few 


346  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

of  them  will  be  noted,  and  most  of  these  have  already  been 
referred  to  in  preceding  chapters.  The  Springfield  civic  center 
is  an  accompHshed  fact.  The  group  plans  for  Cleveland, 
Denver  and  San  Francisco  are  well  under  way.  Detroit,  Pitts- 
burgh, Seattle,  Rochester,  New  Haven,  Bridgeport,  Albany, 
Reading  and  many  other  cities  have  been  making  studies  and 
have  commenced  work  on  some  of  the  details  of  their  new  plans. 
Philadelphia  has  been  systematically  working  on  its  compre- 
hensive plan  and  has  made  substantial  progress  toward  its 
reahzation.  Chicago  has  begun  on  several  of  the  details  of 
its  ambitious  plan,  while  New  York,  after  a  number  of  spasmodic 
efforts,  is  now  engaged  in  the  fundamental  problem  of  formulat- 
ing a  scheme  of  zoning  for  height  limitation  and  the  regulation 
of  the  use  of  private  property.  Some  of  the  legislative  acts 
dealing  with  city  planning  have  already  been  reviewed,  and 
note  will  now  be  made  of  the  methods  which  have  been  followed 
where  no  general  or  specific  laws  have  been  enacted  and  no 
machinery  has  been  provided.  Two  distinct  steps  are  necessary: 
the  formulation  of  a  well-defined  plan  as  to  what  is  to  be  done 
and  the  creation  of  pubHc  sentiment  which  will  approve  a  new 
plan  or  a  modification  of  the  existing  plan  and  push  it  until  it 
is  carried  out.  Many  cases  might  be  cited  as  illustrating  such 
methods,  but  only  two  will  be  selected. 

New  York's  efforts  to  secure,  as  a  preliminary  to  further 
intelligent  planning,  some  reasonable  regulation  as  to  height  and 
size  of  buildings  and  the  uses  to  which  land  may  be  put  will  be 
first  described.  On  February  27,  1913,  the  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment,  on  motion  of  Mr.  George  McAneny,  then 
President  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  adopted  resolutions 
reading  in  part  as  follows: 

Whereas,  There  is  a  growing  sentiment  in  the  community  to  the 
effect  that  the  time  has  come  when  effort  should  be  made  to  regulate  the 
height,  size  and  arrangement  of  buildings  erected  within  the  limits  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  in  order  to  arrest  the  seriously  increasing  evil  of  the 
shutting  off  of  light  and  air  from  other  buildings  and  from  the  public  streets, 
to  prevent  unwholesome  and  dangerous  congestion  both  in  living  conditions 


Progress  and  Methods  347 

and  in  street  and  transit  traffic  and  to  reduce  the  hazards  of  fire  and  peril 
to  hfe; 

Resolved,  That  the  Chairman  be  authorized  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  three  members  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
to  take  this  general  subject  under  consideration,  to  inquire  into  and 
investigate  conditions  actually  existing,  and  to  ascertain  and  report 
whether,  in  their  judgment,  it  is  desirable  to  regulate  the  height,  size  and 
arrangement  of  buildings  hereafter  to  be  erected  or  altered  within  the  city 
limits,  with  due  regard  to  their  location,  character  or  uses,  to  examine  into 
the  practice  and  the  comparative  experience  of  other  cities  either  here  or 
abroad,  and  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  question  of  the  legal  right  of 
the  city  of  New  York  to  regulate  building  construction  in  the  manner 
proposed;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  such  committee  may  also  investigate  and  report 
whether,  in  their  judgment,  it  would  be  lawful  and  desirable  for  the  purpose 
of  such  regulation  to  divide  the  city  into  districts  or  into  zones,  and  to 
prescribe  the  regulation  of  the  height,  size  and  arrangement  of  buildings 
upon  different  bases  in  such  different  districts  or  zones;  and  be  it 
further 

Resolved,  That  the  committee,  when  appointed,  may  in  turn 
appoint  an  advisory  commission  to  aid  it  in  its  work,  such  commission  to 
consist  of  as  many  members  as  the  committee  may  determine,  serving 
without  pay,  if  not  already  in  the  employment  of  the  city,  but  including 
representatives  of  each  of  the  several  boroughs,  and  that  either  the  com- 
mittee or  its  advisory  commission  may  hold  public  hearings  in  each  of  the 
boroughs  and  may  use  all  appropriate  means  to  bring  the  subject  to  the 
attention  of  the  taxpayers  and  to  other  persons  who  may  be  interested, 
etc. 

This  committee  appointed  an  advisory  committee  of  nine- 
teen, of  which  Mr.  Edward  M.  Bassett  was  made  chairman, 
and  which  included  in  its  membership  lawyers,  engineers, 
architects,  builders,  real  estate  developers,  merchants  and 
experts  on  taxation,  housing  and  finance.  A  staff  of  investi- 
gators, statisticians  and  draughtsmen  was  organized  under  the 
general  direction  of  Mr.  George  B.  Ford.  A  great  nimiber  of 
public  hearings  were  given,  at  which  representatives  of  every 
interest  that  would  be  affected  appeared  and  presented  their 
views.  A  special  investigation  was  made  of  the  results  of  the 
districting  methods  employed  in  Europe,  and  a  final  report  was 
submitted  in  December,  1913,  which  report,  with  its  diagrams 


348  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

showing  the  appHcation  of  the  regulations  proposed,  and  its 
appendices,  giving  the  results  of  the  special  investigations  which 
were  made,  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the 
subject.  The  report  strongly  emphasized  the  need  and  reason- 
ableness of  establishing  districts  both  for  height  and  use.  Of 
the  many  forcible  arguments  advanced,  several  paragraphs  will 
be  quoted: 

Manhattan  with  its  skyscrapers  is  comparatively  undeveloped.  It 
is  a  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  area  of  lower  Manhattan  is  now  so 
poorly  developed  that  the  existing  improvements  are  reckoned  of  no  value 
for  purposes  of  purchase  or  sale.  The  bare  value  of  the  land  is  all  that  is 
considered.  This  means  that  a  large  portion  of  the  land  of  Manhattan  is 
very  inadequately  utilized.  Where  space  is  so  scarce  this  inadequate 
utilization  is  a  great  social  and  economic  loss.  This  partial  development 
and  poor  utilization  of  the  land  is  even  more  apparent  in  all  the  other 
boroughs.  A  considerable  percentage  of  the  land  even  in  what  are  con- 
sidered built-up  districts,  is  either  vacant  or  very  inadequately  utilized. 
In  the  suburbs  the  sprawling  character  of  building  development  is  every- 
where apparent.  The  natural  result  of  a  poor  utilization  of  its  land  area 
by  a  city  is  high  rents  for  occupiers  and  low  profits  for  investors.  It  may 
seem  paradoxical  to  hold  that  a  policy  of  building  restriction  tends  to  a 
fuller  utilization  of  land  than  a  policy  of  no  restriction;  but  such  is  un- 
doubtedly the  case.  The  reason  lies  in  the  greater  safety  and  security 
to  investment  secured  by  definite  restrictions.  The  restrictions  tend  to 
fix  the  character  of  the  neighborhood.  The  owner  therefore  feels  that  if 
he  is  to  secure  the  maximum  returns  from  his  land,  he  must  promptly 
improve  it  in  conformity  with  the  established  restrictions.  For  example, 
he  will  not  be  deterred  from  immediate  improvement  by  the  considera- 
tion that  while  a  detached  house  is  at  present  an  appropriate  improve- 
ment, it  is  probable  that  in  ten  years  an  apartment  house  would  be  appro- 
priate, and  that  by  waiting  he  will  not  only  be  able  to  reap  the  advantage 
of  greatly  increased  land  values,  but  will  save  great  depreciation  in  the 
value  of  the  detached  house  due  to  the  fact  that  it  has  become  an  inappro- 
priate improvement  for  the  lot.     .     .     . 

Anything  that  will  tend  to  preserve  the  character  of  a  particular 
section  for  a  reasonable  period  of  years,  will  tend  to  bring  about  the  uni- 
form improvement  of  the  section.  A  large  proportion  of  the  land  of  New 
York  City  that  is  now  unimproved  or  poorly  improved  is  in  that  condition 
because  the  owners  feel  that  the  character  of  the  section  is  changing,  is 
bound  to  change  in  the  near  future  or  that  the  permanent  character  of  the 


Progress  and  Methods  349 

section  is  unknown.  If  restrictions  were  imposed  so  that  the  general  char- 
acter of  particular  sections  could  be  forecasted  with  reasonable  certainty 
for  a  period  of  years,  owners  who  had  been  holding  back  on  account  of  the 
uncertainties  of  the  situation  would  find  it  clearly  to  their  advantage  to 
improve  their  holdings.  The  result  would  be  that  these  restricted  sections 
would  be  more  quickly  built  up  with  buildings  of  similar  type  and  use. 
This  should  have  the  effect  of  improving  living  conditions,  reducing  the 
cost  of  living  and  maintaining  real  estate  values. 

Any  growing  city  that  fails  to  control  building  development  must 
inevitably  suffer  enormous  loss  due  to  building  obsolescence.  Obsolescence 
may  be  defined  as  lack  of  adaptation  to  function.  It  results  from  changed 
conditions  and  surroundings  that  render  the  building  an  inappropriate  im- 
provement for  the  particular  location.  The  total  social  loss  does  not 
consist  merely  of  the  great  cost  of  building  reconstruction  or  of  the  great 
decline  in  the  rental  value  of  the  inappropriate  buildings  that  are  not 
reconstructed,  but  there  is  added  to  this  the  social  loss  due  to  the  retarda- 
tion of  real  estate  improvements  owing  directly  to  the  obsolescence  hazard. 

The  need  for  the  creation  of  special  restrictions  for  special  districts 
is  most  clearly  exemplified  in  the  case  of  suburban  residence  districts.  Here 
real  estate  developers  have  often  found  it  profitable  to  secure  control  of 
large  areas  in  order  by  restrictive  convenants  to  insure  to  intending  pur- 
chasers of  homes  the  creation  and  maintenance  of  a  residence  section  of  a 
certain  desired  type.  The  surroundings  and  neighborhood  are  all  impor- 
tant in  securing  desirable  home  conditions.  Unless  the  general  character 
of  the  section  is  fixed  for  a  considerable  period  of  years  no  one  can  afford 
to  build  a  home.  If  he  does  build,  a  change  in  the  supposed  character  of 
the  neighborhood  through  the  building  of  apartments,  stores  or  factories 
may  render  the  location  undesirable  for  a  home  of  the  character  he  has 
built,  and  thus  greatly  depreciate  his  investment. 

The  New  York  City  charter  authorized  the  fixing  cf  a 
height  Hmit  for  buildings,  but  did  not  give  the  municipal  authori- 
ties power  to  prescribe  different  heights  for  different  parts  of 
the  city,  and  failed  to  authorize  the  imposition  of  any  regulation 
as  to  uses  to  which  property  might  be  put.  The  commission, 
therefore,  felt  obliged  to  limit  its  recommendations  to  the  enact- 
ment of  a  height  limitation  which,  while  it  might  apply  to  the 
entire  city,  was  necessarily  drawn  with  a  view  to  meeting  the 
conditions  in  districts  where  the  high  buildings  had  already  been 
erected.  The  regulations  proposed  with  this  in  view  were  as 
follows: 


350  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Street  Walls.  iA.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided,  when  the 
street  walls  of  any  building  reach  a  height  equal  to  twice  the  width  of  the 
street,  they  shaU  be  set  back  from  the  street  in  the  ratio  of  one  foot  hori- 
zontally for  each  four  feet  vertically;  but  the  Etreet  walls  of  a  building 
facing  on  any  street,  public  place,  park,  or  body  of  water,  more  than  150 
ft.  wide,  including  an  intervening  street  if  any,  must  begin  their  set-backs 
not  over  300  ft.  above  the  curb,  except  as  hereinafter  provided  for  towers. 

iB.  Street  walls  if  erected  on  the  building  line  may  reach  the  height 
of  100  ft.  on  a  street  less  than  50  ft.  wide  before  the  set-back  as  stated 
above  must  begin. 

iC.  When  the  width  of  a  street  varies  in  a  given  block,  the  width  of 
the  street  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  height  of  the  street  walls  in 
said  block  shall  be  taken  to  mean  the  average  width  of  said  street  in  said 
block. 

2.  When  street  waUs  are  erected  inside  the  building  line,  so  that  a 
space  intervenes  between  the  street  and  the  wall,  the  set-back  shall  begin 
where  such  wall  intersects  the  set-back  plane  as  determined  by  the  set- 
backs in  paragraphs  lA  and  iB.  and  above  that  point  the  wall  shall  be  set 
back  in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  wall  were  placed  on  the  balding  line. 

3.  Where  a  single  building  is  erected  upon  a  corner  lot  facing  upon 
streets  of  different  widths,  the  street  of  greatest  width  may  be  used  to 
determine  the  height  at  which  the  set-back  shall  begin.  The  mean  level 
of  the  curb  in  such  street  of  greatest  width  shall  be  the  point  from  which 
such  height  shall  be  measured. 

4.  Where  a  single  building  not  on  a  corner  lot  abuts  upon  streets  of 
different  widths  the  height  and  set-backs  of  each  street  wall  shall  be  de- 
termined by  the  width  of  the  street  on  which  it  abuts. 

5.  No  cornice  shall  project  more  than  five  per  cent  of  the  width  of 
the  street  beyond  the  building  line  or  the  plane  determined  by  the  required 
set-backs  in  lA  and  iB. 

Courts.  6.  Every  building  may  cover  the  entire  area  of  the  lot  up 
to  and  including  the  tier  of  beams  forming  the  ceiling  of  the  first  story, 
which  shall  be  that  story  the  floor  of  which  shall  be  not  more  than  7  ft. 
above  the  curb  level  at  the  highest  point  of  any  street  on  which  the  building 
abuts. 

7.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided,  on  all  lots  upon  which  buildings 
shall  be  erected,  provision  for  light  and  air  shall  be  made  by  leaving  yards 
or  uncovered  courts  above  the  second  story  floor  level,  whose  least  dimen- 
sion shall  be  not  less  than  6  ft. 

8.  At  any  story  of  a  building  the  least  dimension  of  any  court, 
measured  to  an  opposite  wall  of  the  same  building  or  to  a  lot  line,  shall  equal 
in  feet  at  least  one  and  a  quarter  times  the  number  of  stories  from  the 


Progress  and  Methods  351 

second  floor  to  and  including  said  story.     This  provision  need  not  apply- 
to  a  rear  yard,  as  required  under  paragraph  12. 

9.  In  a  court  of  irregular  shape  the  least  dimension  shall  be  taken  to 
mean  the  least  distance  between  walls  or  between  any  wall  and  a  lot  line 
measured  on  a  Line  erected  perpendicular  to  the  center  of  any  side  of  said 
court. 

10.  The  provisions  of  paragraphs  7,  8  and  9  need  not  apply  to  a 
court  upon  which  no  office  or  work  room  solely  depends  for  access  to  out- 
side light  and  air. 

11.  In  every  building  there  shall  be  a  loss  in  area  for  each  story 
above  the  second  story  floor  level  of  at  least  one  per  cent  of  the  lot  area, 
in  addition  to  other  requirements  hereinafter  contained. 

12.  Except  as  provided  in  paragraphs  13^  and  i^B  there  shall  be  an 
uncovered  space  above  the  second  story  floor  level  between  the  rear  line 
of  every  building  and  the  rear  line  of  the  lot,  which  shall  contain  not  less 
than  10  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  lot,  and  the  least  dimension  of  which 
shall  be  not  less  than  10  per  cent  of  the  depth  of  the  lot.  When  the 
front  and  rear  lines  of  the  lot  are  not  parallel,  the  depth  of  the  lot  shall  be 
taken  to  mean  the  average  depth. 

13^.  The  requirements  of  paragraph  12  shall  not  apply  to  a  build- 
ing erected  on  a  lot  at  the  corner  of  two  or  more  streets. 

i^B.  When  a  building  is  erected  upon  a  lot  fronting  upon  two  or 
more  streets  but  not  on  a  corner,  there  shall  be  an  uncovered  space  above 
the  second  story  floor  level  equal  in  area  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the 
lot. 

14.  No  courts  shall  be  required  in  a  building  erected  on  a  three- 
sided  lot  in  which  three  sides  face  upon  public  streets  and  in  which  the 
length  of  the  shortest  side  does  not  exceed  100  ft. 

15.  No  courts  shall  be  required  in  a  building  erected  upon  a  three- 
sided  lot  in  which  only  two  sides  face  upon  public  streets  and  in  which  the 
length  of  the  third  side  does  not  exceed  100  ft. 

16.  No  courts  shall  be  required  in  a  building  erected  upon  a 
rectangular  or  trapezoidal  lot  in  which  three  or  more  sides  face  upon 
public  streets,  and  in  which  the  greatest  width  of  the  lot  from  street  to  street 
measured  in  a  line  at  right  angles  to  either  street  does  not  exceed  90  ft. 

Towers.  17.  It  is  further  provided,  that,  in  addition  to  a  building 
erected  as  hereinbefore  provided,  a  structure  to  be  called  a  "  tower  " 
may  extend  without  limit  above  such  building  and  without  loss  of  area, 
but  such  tower  shall  not  occupy  an  area  exceeding  25  per  cent  of  the  area 
of  the  lot,  and  no  part  of  such  tower  shall  approach  nearer  than  20  ft.  to 
any  lot  or  street  line,  except,  however,  that  such  tower  may  be  built  on 
that  building  line  of  a  building  facing  on  a  public  square,  a  public  park, 


352  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

or  the  water  front,  with  or  without  an  intervening  street  as  hereinbefore 
defined  in  paragraph  lA. 

Exceptions.  i8.  The  above  regulations  do  not  apply  to  tenement 
houses  and  do  not  apply  to  hotels,  lodging  houses  or  theatres  in  so  far  as 
sections  6-16  in  relation  to  courts  are  concerned,  nor  do  they  apply  to 
church  spires,  belfries  or  chimneys  for  power  and  manufacturing  plants. 
The  existing  laws  and  ordinances  in  relation  to  tenement  houses  and 
hotels,  lodging  houses  and  theatres  will  be  continued  in  force. 

The  commission  gave  a  number  of  illustrations  to  show  how 
the  proposed  regulations  would  affect  high  buildings  recently- 
erected,  and  submitted  drafts  of  two  charter  amendments 
which  were  passed  by  the  State  Legislature  and  became  effec- 
tive on  April  21,  1914.     These  amendments  are  as  follows: 

Height  and  open  Spaces.  Section  242a.  The  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment  shall  have  power  to  regulate  and  limit  the  height  and 
bulk  of  buildings  hereafter  erected  and  to  regulate  and  determine  the 
area  of  yards,  courts  and  other  open  spaces.  The  board  may  divide  the 
city  into  districts  of  such  number,  shape  and  area  as  it  may  deem  best 
suited  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  section.  The  regulations  as  to 
the  height  and  bulk  of  buildings  and  the  area  of  yards,  courts  and  other 
open  spaces  shall  be  uniform  for  each  class  of  buildings  throughout  each 
district.  The  regulations  in  one  or  more  districts  may  differ  from  those 
in  other  districts. 

Such  regulations  shall  be  designed  to  secure  safety  from  fire  and 
other  dangers  and  to  promote  the  public  health  and  welfare,  including, 
so  far  as  conditions  may  permit,  provision  for  adequate  Hght,  air  and 
convenience  of  access.  The  board  shall  pay  reasonable  regard  to  the 
character  of  bu'ldings  erected  in  each  district,  the  value  of  the  land  and 
the  use  to  which  it  may  be  put,  to  the  end  that  such  regulations  may  pro- 
mote public  health,  safety  and  welfare  and  the  most  desirable  use  for 
which  the  land  of  each  district  may  be  adapted  and  may  tend  to  conserve 
the  value  of  buildings  and  enhance  the  value  of  land  throughout  the  city. 

The  board  shall  appoint  a  commission  to  recommend  the  boundaries 
of  districts  and  appropriate  regulations  to  be  enforced  therein.  Such 
commission  shall  make  a  tentative  report  and  hold  public  hearings  thereon 
at  such  times  and  places  as  said  board  shall  require  before  submitting  its 
final  report.  Said  board  shall  not  determine  the  boundaries  of  any  dis- 
trict nor  impose  any  regulation  until  after  the  final  report  of  a  commission 
so  appointed.  After  such  final  report  said  board  shall  afford  persons  in- 
terested an  opportunity  to  be  heard  at  a  time  and  place  to  be    specified 


Progress  and  Methods  353 

in  a  notice  of  hearing  to  be  published  for  ten  consecutive  days  in  the 
City  Record. 

Location  of  Industries  and  Buildi;ngs.  Section  2426.  The 
Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  may  regulate  and  restrict  the  lo- 
cation of  trades  and  industries  and  the  location  of  buildings  designed  for 
specified  uses,  and  may  divide  the  city  into  districts  of  such  number,  shape 
and  area  as  it  may  deem  best  suited  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  sec- 
tion. For  each  such  district  regulations  may  be  imposed  designating  the 
trades  and  industries  that  shall  be  excluded  or  subjected  to  special  regula- 
tions, and  designating  the  uses  for  which  buildings  may  not  be  erected 
or  altered.  Such  regulations  shall  be  designed  to  promote  the  public 
health,  safety  and  general  welfare.  The  board  shall  give  reasonable  con- 
sideration, among  other  things,  to  the  character  of  the  district,  its  pecuUar 
suitabiUty  for  particular  uses,  the  conservation  of  property  values,  and  the 
direction  of  building  development  in  accord  with  a  well-considered  plan. 

The  board  shall  appoint  a  commission  to  recommend  the  boundaries 
of  districts  and  appropriate  regulations  and  restrictions  to  be  imposed 
therein.  Such  commission  shall  make  a  tentative  report  and  hold  public 
hearings  thereon  before  submitting  its  final  report  at  such  time  as  said 
board  shall  require.  Said  board  shall  not  determine  the  boundaries 
of  any  district  nor  impose  any  regulations  or  restrictions  until  after  the 
final  report  of  a  commission  so  appointed.  After  such  final  report  said 
board  shall  afford  persons  interested  an  opportunity  to  be  heard  at  a  time 
and  place  to  be  specified  in  a  notice  of  hearing  to  be  pubUshed  for  ten 
consecutive  days  in  the  City  Record. 

A  commission  was  appointed  to  prepare  schemes  both  for 
height  and  space  limitations  and  for  restrictions  as  to  use  and 
occupancy,  and  it  is  expected  that  a  report  will  be  submitted 
during  the  first  part  of  the  year  19 16.  The  recommendations 
will  then  be  open  for  discussion,  and  it  will  be  seen  whether  they 
will  stand  the  test  of  public  criticism.  A  few  years  ago  any 
plan  for  such  regulation  would  have  had  little  chance  of  popular 
approval,  but  owners  of  real  estate,  builders  and  those  who 
finance  real  estate  and  building  operations  appear  to  realize 
the  danger  of  unrestricted  building,  and  to  be  ready  and 
anxious  to  favor  action  which  will  prevent  further  conges- 
tion, conserve  real  estate  values  and  stabilize  the  character  of 
districts  where  that  character  is  desirable  and  improve  it  where 
it  is  otherwise;    since  they  see  that  some  reasonable  regulation 


354  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


of  the  height  and  bulk  of  buildings  that  will  prevent  the  intru- 
sion of  business  or  enterprises  which  are  inconsistent  with  the 
estabHshed  character  of  a  neighborhood  is  Hkely  to  accomphsh 
these  results. 

A  movement  of  this  kind,  to  be  successful,  must  have  pubHc 
interest  and  approval  behind  it.  The  general  pubHc  must 
understand  its  purpose  and  the  methods  by  which  it  is  to  be 
attained.  That  there  is  such  an  understanding  in  New  York 
is  shown  by  a  very  significant  incident.  This  was  the  inser- 
tion in  the  daily  papers  of  March  5,  191 6,  of  a  full-page  adver- 
tisement signed  by  13  of  the  leading  retail  merchants  of  the 
city  and  endorsed  by  54  merchants,  manufacturers,  banks, 
hotels,  clubs  and  large  owners  of  real  estate.  The  advertise- 
ment was  headed  with  the  words:  "  Shall  we  save  New  York? 
— Shall  we  save  it  from  unnatural  and  unnecessary  crowding, 
from  depopulated  sections,  from  being  a  city  unbeautiful, 
from  high  rents,  from  excessive  and  illy  distributed  taxation? 
We  can  save  it  from  all  of  these,  so  far  at  least  as  they  are  caused 
by  one  specified  industrial  evil — the  erection  of  factories  in  the 
residential  and  famous  retail  section."  They  then  serve  notice 
that  they  will  give  the  preference  in  their  purchases  to  firms 
whose  manufacturing  plants  are  located  outside  of  a  specified 
zone  which  includes  most  of  the  high-class  shops  and  hotels 
and  many  of  the  finest  residences.  February  i,  1917,  is  named 
as  the  time  that  the  notice  will  go  into  effect,  in  order  that  the 
manufacturers  now  in  this  zone  may  be  enabled  to  secure 
other  quarters. 

In  Chicago  we  have  an  excellent  example  of  the  development 
by  an  unofficial  body  of  citizens  of  an  ambitious  scheme  for 
the  improvement  of  a  great  city  by  recasting  the  plan  of  its 
most  intensively  developed  section.  Mr.  Walter  D.  Moody, 
Managing  Director  of  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  in  an  article 
on  "  How  to  Go  about  City  Planning,"  says:  ^ 

"  Rarely  in  this  country  is  city  planning  work  initiated  by 
the  municipal  government.     Where  this  is  the  case  the  highest 

1  The  City  Plan  Quarterly,  March,  1915. 


Progress  and  Methods  355 

degree  of  success  is  not  attained.  The  best  results  have  been 
had  where  the  city  planning  movement  originated  with  a  group 
of  substantial  pubHc-spirited  citizens,  or  under  the  auspices  of 
commercial  or  civic  organizations.  The  reason  is  that  at  the 
very  outset  adequate  funds  must  be  had  for  technical  advice 
and  for  the  conduct  of  preUminary  work  to  the  end  that  public 
sentiment  may  be  stirred.  Appropriations  by  city  administra- 
tions for  the  first  need  rarely  sufl&ce.  This  is  due  to  the  fear 
of  poHticians  that  the  censure  of  the  community  would  be 
incurred  by  invading  new  and  untried  fields.  Under  the  ordi- 
nary power  of  a  city  for  making  appropriations  for  corporate 
purposes  the  second  need  cannot  be  covered  at  all." 

When  a  city  planning  project  is  undertaken  in  this  way 
it  is  first  necessary  to  secure  funds  either  through  appropriations 
by  some  civic  organization  or  by  private  subscriptions  from 
citizens.  In  Chicago  the  work  was  undertaken  and  financed 
by  the  Commercial  Club,  while  in  Brooklyn  a  similar  though  less 
ambitious  movement  was  organized  and  the  funds  were  raised 
by  a  few  pubHc-spirited  citizens,  headed  by  Mr.  Frederick  B. 
Pratt  and  Mr.  Alfred  T.  White.  The  next  step  is  to  secure  a 
competent  expert  adviser  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  existing 
conditions,  to  suggest  what  should  be  done  and  to  present  the 
recommendations  in  a  clear  and  convincing  fashion.  The 
preparation  of  a  series  of  attractive  pictures  will  not  suffice. 
They  may  arouse  a  good  deal  of  temporary  enthusiasm,  but  the 
people  who  would  be  likely  to  get  behind  a  movement  of  this 
kind  and  support  it  by  their  influence  and  money  will  want  to 
be  shown  the  reasons  for  and  the  probable  economic  results  of 
the  carrying  out  of  the  suggestions.  Many  admirable  presen- 
tations of  this  kind  might  be  noted,  but  the  Hst  would  be  a  long 
one  and  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  enumerate  them.  Having 
produced  a  plan,  the  next  thing  is  to  secure  the  interest  of  the 
general  public.  Mr.  Moody  in  the  article  referred  to  has  out- 
fined  the  policy  adopted  by  the  Chicago  Plan  Commission,  an 
official  body  appointed  by  the  mayor  of  the  city  to  advance 
the  carrying  out  of  the  plans  prepared  by  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Burn- 


356  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

ham  for  the  Commercial  Club.  In  naming  the  members  of 
this  commission  the  mayor  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  taking 
the  public  into  their  confidence  "  to  the  end  that  the  whole  city 
and  all  elements  in  it  may  be  fully  informed  as  to  what  is  con- 
templated in  this  plan  for  the  future."  How  the  commission 
did  this  can  best  be  described  in  Mr,  Moody's  words: 

Actuated  by  this  admonition  the  commission  set  out  on  an  elaborate 
and  comprehensive  educational  propaganda.  First  there  was  prepared 
an  8o-page  illustrated  booklet  setting  forth  the  technical  proposals  in  the 
plan.  This  was  shot  through  with  a  strong  and  exhortive  appeal  to  the 
citizens  to  get  behind  the  commission  in  the  promotion  of  the  plan.  One 
hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  copies  of  this  booklet  were  pubUshed 
and  distributed  gratis  to  property  owners  and  tenants  paying  a  rental  of 
$25  per  month  and  upwards. 

Next  there  was  prepared  a  textbook  on  citizenship  and  city  planning 
for  use  in  the  Chicago  schools.  This  study  was  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Education,  since  which  45,000  copies  have  been  issued. 

Tens  of  scores  of  stories  of  the  plan  and  the  purposes  of  the  com- 
mission were  written  and  furnished  to  newspapers  and  periodicals. 

There  was  organized  an  efifective  stereopticon  lecture  course.  The 
countries  of  the  world  were  scoured  for  illustrations  and  technical  data, 
for  use  in  embellishing  the  arguments  of  the  lecturer.  Thus  the  Plan  of 
Chicago  has  been  directly  presented  in  more  than  300  lectures,  and  100,000 
citizens  have  been  reached  directly  in  this  way.  Invitations  for  the  lectures 
have  been  received  from  clubs,  societies,  business  organizations,  schools, 
universities,  churches,  labor  organizations,  in  fact,  from  every  organized 
source  and  from  all  parts  of  the  city. 

The  commission  has  even  resorted  to  moving  pictures  in 
its  work  of  publicity,  two  reels  occupying  forty  minutes  having 
been  prepared  which  are  designed  to  contrast  existing  conditions 
with  those  which  would  result  from  the  carrying  out  of  the  plan. 
That  this  propaganda  work  has  been  successful  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  funds  have  been  voted  by  the  people  for  carrying 
out  several  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  scheme,  while 
one  of  the  most  significant  results  accompHshed  is  an  under- 
standing between  the  city  authorities  and  the  Plan  Commission 
that  no  important  work  not  included  in  the  present  plan  shall 
be  initiated  by  the  city  until  it  shall  have  first  been  referred  to 


Progress  and  Methods  357 

the  commission;  and  it  is  said  that  "  scarcely  a  month  passes 
that  some  council  committee  or  city  department  does  not  invoke 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  commission." 

If  official  planning  commissions  are  created,  what  should  be 
their  functions  and  powers?  This  subject  was  ably  discussed 
in  a  paper  prepared  by  Dr.  Robert  H.  Whitten,  Secretary  of  the 
Committee  on  City  Plan  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Appor- 
tionment of  New  York  City  at  the  request  of  a  special  com- 
mittee on  administrative  procedure  of  the  National  Conference 
on  City  Planning,  which  was  supplemented  by  extracts  from 
replies  received  from  thirty-one  different  individuals  and  bodies 
to  whom  questions  had  been  addressed.^ 

The  disposition  to  create  new  commissions  for  certain  pur- 
poses is  well  expressed  by  Dr.  Whitten  as  follows: 

In  American  state  and  city  government  almost  every  expansion 
of  governmental  activity  is  initiated  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  new 
commission.  There  is  a  fear  of  entrusting  the  working  out  of  new  functions 
to  existing  officials.  Existing  officials  are  already  loaded  with  work  and 
it  is  thought  that  they  will  have  neither  the  time,  the  inclination  nor  per- 
haps the  ability  to  develop  the  new  idea.  A  new  commission,  composed 
usually  of  unpaid  members,  is  used  to  plan  and  care  for  the  new  under- 
taking, at  least  during  its  development  period.  Often  the  new  function 
fails  to  take  root  as  a  permanent  institution  and  the  commission  dies.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  new  function  becomes  a  recognized  governmental 
function,  it  is  sooner  or  later  merged  with  the  governmental  organization. 
The  new  function  is  transferred  to  the  proper  official  or  department  and 
the  commission  disappears.  That  is  inevitable;  otherwise,  municipal 
government  would  soon  become  an  utterly  disorganized  tangle  of  boards 
and  commissions. 

The  City  Planning  movement  will  doubtless  be  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  Doubtless  the  commission  method  will  be  used  largely  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  movement;  but,  if  the  city  planning  movement  endures,  it 
will  ultimately  be  made  a  part  of  the  general  governmental  organization. 
The  city  plan  is  so  vitally  connected  with  every  phase  of  municipal  activity 
that  it  must  be  worked  out  in  as  close  touch  as  is  possible  with  the  existing 
administrative  and  legislative  authorities. 

'  Proceedings  Seventh  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  Detroit, 
1915- 


358  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

In  discussing  the  manner  in  which  a  plan  should  be  devel- 
oped, Dr.  Whitten  says: 

The  formal  confirmation  of  a  tentative  comprehensive  plan  will 
come  slowly.  It  will  probably  be  inexpedient  to  ask  for  an  ofl&cial  con- 
firmation of  any  but  the  most  essential  parts  of  a  comprehensive  plan 
developed  by  the  city  plan  ofiice.  The  city  plan  office  in  formulating 
its  picture  of  the  future  city  will  consider  many  facts  and  factors  that  will 
necessarily  have  an  important  bearing  upon  its  comprehensive  plan  and 
which  may  be  tentatively  included  in  the  plan,  and  which  it  would  be  un- 
necessary and  inexpedient  to  submit  for  official  confirmation.   .    .   . 

The  city  plan  office  should  realize  at  the  start  that  its  one  big  job 
is  the  development  of  a  comprehensive  plan;  that  it  will  not  usually  be  in 
a  position  to  make  a  unique  contribution  to  the  solution  of  particular 
problems  until  it  has  this  comprehensive  picture  of  the  future  city.  It 
should,  therefore,  guard  against  frittering  its  time  away  on  numberless 
apparently  urgent  and  immediate  problems  and  thus  lose  the  opportunity 
of  ever  becoming  the  real  controlling  force  in  shaping  the  future  city. 
This  does  not  mean  that  the  city  plan  office  may  not  with  propriety 
advise  in  regard  to  questions  where  its  preliminary  studies  show  that  failure 
to  act  would  imperil  the  probable  future  plan. 

Many  of  the  larger  cities  have  established  art  commissions 
or  juries,  the  function  of  which  is  to  examine  and  report  upon  the 
location  of  and  plans  for  important  buildings,  bridges  and  other 
monumental  structures  and  all  works  of  art,  such  as  fountains, 
monuments  and  statues.  The  question  is  frequently  raised 
as  to  whether  or  not  such  functions  should  be  combined  with 
or  merged  in  those  of  the  officer,  board  or  commission  having 
control  of  the  city  plan.  The  two  problems,  however,  are  quite 
distinct.  An  art  commission  or  jury  should  be  composed  of 
art  experts,  but  the  kind  of  ability  and  experience  required  to 
pass  judgment  upon  the  city  plan  is  very  different,  and  more 
satisfactory  results  have  been  secured  where  these  functions 
have  been  kept  entirely  separate. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
FINANCING  A   CITY  PLAN^ 

THE  title  of  this  chapter  might  ahnost  be  expanded  into  the 
comprehensive  one  of  "  financing  a  city,"  to  such  a  large 
degree  does  the  financing  of  a  city  plan  include  the  great  number 
of  things  that  are  generally  known  as  city  improvements.  It 
would  not,  of  course,  include  the  maintenance  of  the  city  schools, 
which  is  usually  the  largest  single  item  in  the  annual  municipal 
budget,  although  it  would  include  the  location  and  acquisition 
of  sites  for  school  buildings  and  provision  for  proper  play- 
grounds in  connection  with  them.  It  would  not  include  the 
cost  of  administering  the  departments  of  public  safety,  of  cor- 
rections and  charities  and  the  other  social  activities  of  the 
modern  city,  except,  as  in  the  case  of  the  schools,  to  provide 
for  the  proper  location  and  the  effective  grouping  of  their 
buildings  where  possible.  It  would  include  the  development 
of  a  street  and  park  system  and  the  acquisition  of  the  land 
needed  for  them,  the  location  and  purchase  of  sites  for  and  the 
erection  of  public  buildings  of  all  kinds,  bridges,  monuments, 
fountains  or  other  structures  which  may  dignify  and  adorn  a 
city  or  may  make  it  more  or  less  ridiculous,  depending  upon  their 
location  and  design.  It  would  include  a  proper  and  effective 
scheme  of  Ugh  ting;  an  adequate  system  of  water  supply  and  all 
of  its  appurtenances;  provision  for  drainage  and  sewage  dis- 
posal and  a  general  scheme  of  street  pavement,  which  should 
not  be  left  to  the  caprice  of  the  property  owners  in  each  street, 

'  A  portion  of  the  matter  in  this  chapter  is  taken  from  a  paper  entitled 
"  Paying  the  Bills  for  City  Planning,"  presented  by  the  author  at  the  Fourth 
National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  held  at  Boston  in  i9i2,and  subsequently 
issued  by  the  Conference  as  a  separate  pamphlet. 

359 


360  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  provision  for  the  maintenance  and  renewal  of  pavements 
and  the  planting  and  care  of  trees,  which  should  not  be  confined 
to  parks  and  boulevards.  All  of  these  things,  and  more,  have  a 
vital  influence  on  the  general  appearance  of  a  city  and  should 
therefore  be  included  in  its  general  plan.  To  secure  them  as 
needed  and  in  proper  sequence  will  require  not  only  wise  fore- 
thought and  the  highest  technical  skill,  but  sane  and  prudent 
methods  in  financing  them. 

Some  who  have  written  and  spoken  somewhat  oracularly 
on  the  subject  of  city  planning  appear  to  beUeve  that  the  cost 
of  securing  a  proper  city  plan  consists,  first  in  the  expense  of 
a  propaganda  to  arouse  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  preparation 
of  the  plan,  and  then  in  paying  some  experts  for  a  study  of  the 
local  situation,  in  more  or  less  surveying,  and  finally  in  the 
making  of  a  lot  of  maps,  studies  and  pictures.  These  are 
exhibited  and  admired,  if  the  pictures  are  attractive;  a  hand- 
somely printed  and  bound  report  is  issued  and  talked  about  for 
a  time;  the  citizens  congratulate  themselves  upon  the  fact  that 
their  town  is  soon  to  become  another  Paris,  and  finally  some  one 
asks  what  it  is  all  to  cost.  The  answer,  if  a  frank  one,  is  quite 
sure  to  dampen  the  enthusiasm  which  has  been  aroused ;  the  plans 
are  soon  forgotten  and  the  pictures  put  in  storage,  to  be  brought 
out  and  shown,  perhaps,  at  a  few  city  planning  exhibitions.  The 
slow  growth  of  a  proper  city  plan  and  the  years  of  painstaking 
work  required  to  produce  it  have  been  outHned  in  other  chapters. 
What  concerns  us  here  is  the  manner  in  which  a  rational  and 
comprehensive  plan  is  to  be  progressively  carried  out  and  sanely 
financed.  There  are  several  ways  in  which  the  cost  of  improve- 
ments included  in  the  plan  can  be  met:  By  direct  assessment 
upon  the  property  which  would  be  benefited  by  each  particular 
improvement,  by  making  the  expense  a  general  city  charge,  or 
by  a  combination  of  the  two  methods.  When  the  city  pays  all 
or  a  part  of  the  cost  the  funds  for  the  purpose  must  be  raised 
in  the  annual  tax  levy  or  they  must  be  borrowed;  that  is,  the 
city  must  use  either  its  cash  or  its  credit. 

Many  European  cities  have  large  revenues  derived  from  prof- 


Financing  a  City  Plan  361 

itable  enterprises  in  which  they  have  engaged,  and  in  some 
cases  from  land  speculation.  Such  municipal  ventures  are  very- 
rare  in  American  cities  and  are  still  regarded  with  suspicion, 
and  the  only  recourse  of  these  cities  is  to  the  method  of  direct 
assessment,  general  taxes  or  the  use  of  their  credit,  which  is 
really  the  same  thing  as  general  taxation  extended  over  a  term 
of  years. 

The  feeling  is  common  and  not  unnatural  that  if  we  are 
planning  more  for  the  future  than  the  present  coming  genera- 
tions, which  will  reap  the  benefit,  should  bear  the  greater  part 
of  the  burden.  This  is  a  comfortable  sort  of  theory,  but  it  has 
led  to  the  adoption  of  plans  of  financing  improvements  by  state 
and  city  authorities  which  are  not  only  short  sighted,  but  which 
are  in  many  cases  reckless  and  indefensible.  The  state  of 
New  York  by  the  vote  of  its  people  has  authorized  the  expendi- 
ture of  $100,000,000  for  the  improvement  of  the  state  highways, 
and  this  enormous  sum  is  raised  by  the  issue  of  fifty-year  bonds. 
While  a  portion  of  the  work  to  be  done  is  undoubtedly  of  a  perma- 
nent character,  such  as  the  widening  and  straightening  of 
the  roads,  the  improvement  of  grades  and  provision  for  drain- 
age by  substantial  structures  of  masonry  or  steel,  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  expenditure  is  for  road  surfaces,  many  of 
which  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  last  for  more  than  ten  years. 
Borrowing  money  for  fifty  years  to  pay  for  ten-year  roads  is 
obviously  unwise. 

The  state  of  Maine  has  adopted  a  different  and  quite  novel 
scheme  for  financing  its  road  improvements.  Under  a  law 
enacted  in  19 13  serial  bonds,  the  last  of  any  series  being  payable 
within  41  years,  were  authorized  to  be  issued  in  amounts 
not  exceeding  $500,000  in  any  one  year,  with  the  provision  that 
not  more  than  $2,000,000  of  these  bonds  shall  be  outstanding 
at  any  one  time,  the  bonds  bearing  interest  not  exceeding  four  per 
cent.  The  peculiar  provision  of  this  law  is  that  these  bonds  are 
to  be  cared  for  from  the  receipts  for  automobile  licenses.  With 
$2,000,000  in  bonds  outstanding  and  one-fortieth  of  this  sum  to 
be  retired  in  any  one  year,  $130,000  would  have  to  be  provided 


362  The  Planning  of  tlie  Modern  City 

annually  for  interest  on  the  outstanding  bonds  and  for  the 
retirement  of  those  falling  due.  In  191 2  the  receipts  for  auto- 
mobile license  fees  amounted  to  about  $100,000;  this  sum  was 
increased  the  following  year  to  $140,000,  and  in  1914  to  about 
$180,000.  If  these  increases  continue  there  would  appear 
to  be  some  margin  which  could  be  devoted  to  the  annual  ex- 
penses for  the  repair  and  maintenance  of  the  roads.  A  capital- 
ization of  estimated  receipts  from  such  a  source,  which  prudence 
would  dictate  should  be  devoted  to  up-keep,  appears  to  be  a 
dangerous  method  of  financing  road  improvements,  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  highly  probable  that  before  the  last 
of  any  series  of  bonds  will  be  retired  it  will  be  necessary  to 
replace  the  road  surfaces  several  times,  and  to  meet  this  expense 
the  entire  receipts  from  automobile  licenses  over  and  above  the 
amount  required  to  care  for  the  bonds  would  probably  be  needed, 
and  even  this  might  be  found  inadequate. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  instance  of  reckless  financ- 
ing was  that  adopted  by  several  towns  near  New  York  which 
have  since  been  incorporated  within  the  city  limits.  In  1865 
the  state  legislature  authorized  three  of  these  towns  to  raise 
by  loan  the  sums  of  $3500,  $6500,  and  $2500  respectively, 
which  sums  were  to  be  appropriated  to  the  improvement  of  a 
certain  highway  beginning  at  the  Harlem  River  and  passing 
through  the  three  towns  named.  The  act  provided  that  each 
town  should  issue  bonds  for  the  amount  required  to  meet  the 
cost  of  that  part  of  the  improvement  within  its  limits,  and  that 
these  should  bear  seven  per  cent  interest  and  should  be  so  drawn 
as  to  become  due  in  smns  not  exceeding  $1000  in  any  one  year. 
In  1868  the  law  was  amended  by  substituting  for  the  sums 
named  for  each  town  the  words,  "  such  sums  as  may  be  neces- 
sary." This  was  the  result:  the  town  which  was  first  authorized 
to  spend  $6500  actually  expended  the  sum  of  $112,500,  some  of 
the  bonds  being  in  amounts  of  $1000,  but  most  of  them  $500. 
There  were  altogether  178  different  bonds,  the  last  one  of  which 
will  become  due  in  1980.  The  town  which  was  originally 
authorized  to  issue  $3500  in  bonds  actually  issued   its  obhga- 


Financing  a  City  Plan  363 

tions  to  the  amount  of  $278,000,  and  the  last  of  these  bonds  will 
fall  due  in  the  year  2147.  These  two  towns  have  since  become  a 
part  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  that  city  has  been  obliged  to 
assume  all  of  their  obligations,  so  that  in  the  annual  tax  budget 
there  appears  each  year  provision  for  paying  off  one  of  the  bonds 
for  each  of  these  towns,  together  with  interest  at  seven  per  cent 
on  those  which  remain  outstanding.  While  the  firoi  'egislative 
act  provided  that  two  towns,  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
might  incur  debts  aggregating  $10,000,  which  should  be  entirely 
paid  off  in  not  more  than  13  years,  an  actual  debt  of  $390,500 
was  incurred  and  saddled  upon  the  city  in  such  a  fashion  that 
it  could  not  be  entirely  paid  for  278  years  after  the  first  bonds 
were  issued. 

It  seems  easy  to  pay  with  borrowed  money,  particularly 
when  the  money  can  be  borrowed  for  50  years,  or  the  span 
of  two  generations.  The  habit  of  paying  in  this  way  is  easily 
acquired  and  is  broken  with  difficulty.  When  anything  is  paid 
for  with  money  borrowed  for  a  period  longer  than  the  possible 
or  even  probable  life  of  the  article  purchased,  the  city's  credit 
is  improperly  used.  A  corporation  which  pays  for  its  better- 
ments from  earnings  is  on  a  sound  basis.  "  When  large  earnings 
are  used  to  pay  excessive  dividends,  and  betterments  and 
renewals  are  paid  from  borrowed  money  representing  additional 
obligations,  there  is  danger.  When  interest  on  existing  debt 
is  paid  from  fimds  raised  by  incurring  more  debt,  disaster  is 
imminent.  Almost  the  only  source  of  revenue  of  most  cities 
is  their  power  to  tax.  Their  credit  is  due  to  this  power  plus  the 
value  of  their  own  property.  The  larger  the  debt  which  has  been 
incurred  for  projects  which  are  not  self-sustaining,  the  greater 
will  be  the  demands  upon  a  city's  taxing  power  to  meet  interest 
and  sinking  fund  charges  due  to  such  debt,  and  the  less  will  be 
its  ability  to  undertake  new  improvements  and  at  the  same  time 
meet  the  enormous  running  expense  of  the  modern  city.  It 
might  not  be  a  forced  comparison  to  say  that  the  ordinary 
services  which  a  city  renders  to  the  public  through  its  administra- 
tive departments,  the  expenses  of  which  are  met  by  the  regular 


364  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

tax  levy,  are  the  dividends  which  it  pays  to  its  stockholders^ 
while  for  its  betterments  and  renewals  it  must  issue  bonds  or 
levy  special  assessments.  Every  bond  issue  requires  an  increase 
in  the  tax  levy  for  a  term  of  years  in  order  to  meet  interest  and 
amortization  charges,  curtaihng  by  just  so  much  the  amount 
which  can  be  expended  upon  municipal  housekeeping  expenses. 
In  order  to  keep  the  tax  rate  within  reasonable  limits,  expenses 
which  should  properly  be  met  from  the  tax  levy  are  often  paid 
with  borrowed  money.  Is  not  the  city  which  adopts  this  poHcy 
actually  doing  the  same  thing  as  the  business  corporation  which 
incurs  additional  debt  in  order  to  pay  dividends? 

The  class  of  improvements  which  are  commonly  considered 
city  planning  projects  are  not  self-sustaining.  Many  of  them  are 
actually  the  correction  of  defects  due  to  lack  of  proper  planning. 
In  such  cases  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  property  affected  by 
them  already  has  been  assessed  for  the  acquisition  and  improve- 
ment of  streets  which  were  at  the  time  considered  adequate  for  its 
local  needs.  The  widening  and  rearrangement  of  streets  in  built- 
up  sections  will,  however,  improve  conditions  and  increase  values, 
and  a  part  of  the  expense  should,  therefore,  be  placed  upon  the 
property  benefited.  In  the  more  fundamental  work  of  city 
planning,  where  unoccupied  territory  is  being  developed,  the 
property  will  not  have  been  assessed  for  improvements,  and 
consequently  the  acquisition  and  construction  of  new  streets 
can  properly  be  assessed  upon  the  adjoining  or  neighboring 
property  according  to  benefit,  such  benefit  representing  the 
entire  cost  in  the  case  of  local  streets  and  a  portion  of  the  cost 
in  the  case  of  thoroughfares  of  more  than  local  or  even  of  metro- 
politan importance.  One  principle  should  invariably  be  recog- 
nized :  namely,  where  there  is  local  benefit  there  should  be  local 
assessment.  There  can  be  no  improvement  which  has  been  intel- 
ligently planned  and  executed  which  will  not  result  in  some  local 
benefit,  and  it  follows  that  there  should  always  be  some  local 
asesssment.  No  improvement,  however  small  or  large,  will  be  of 
equal  benefit  to  the  entire  city,  and  to  distribute  the  burden  of 
paying  for  it  over  the  whole  city  according  to  taxable  values  is 


Financing  a  City  Plan  365 

unfair  in  that  it  is  not  placed  according  to  benefit.  The  own- 
ers of  property  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  frequently  enriched 
at  the  expense  of  those  whose  holdings  are  entirely  outside  the 
district  directly  affected. 

Some  may  think  that  this  statement  should  be  so  modified 
as  to  exclude  certain  great  improvements  such  as  public  buildings, 
bridges,  docks  and  rapid-transit  lines,  and  yet  there  is  doubt- 
less a  local  benefit  resulting  from  these.  It  may  be  urged  that 
such  things  are  not  included  in  what  is  commonly  called  city 
planning.  If  so,  the  definition  of  city  planning  needs  revision, 
for  they  certainly  are  most  essential  parts  of  any  city  plan. 
The  City  Club  of  New  York  several  years  ago  showed  that  as 
a  result  of  the  building  of  the  first  rapid-transit  subway  in 
New  York,  the  actual  land  values  in  those  portions  of  upper 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  which  were  most  directly  affected 
were  within  seven  years  increased  $80,500,000  above  the  normal 
increase  for  that  period.  The  cost  of  that  part  of  the  subway 
passing  through  the  districts  where  this  rise  in  values  took  place 
was  about  $13,000,000,  while  the  cost  of  the  entire  subway  from 
the  Battery  north  was  $43,000,000.  It  is  quite  evident  that 
if  the  $13,000,000  which  was  spent  on  that  part  of  the  subway 
traversing  the  district  so  notably  benefited  had  been  assessed 
directly  upon  the  property,  its  owners  would  still  have  netted 
a  neat  profit  of  some  $67,500,000,  while,  had  the  cost  of  the 
entire  subway  been  assessed  upon  the  same  Hmited  district, 
the  net  profit  to  the  land-owners  would  have  been  $37,500,000. 
Was  it  quite  fair  that  property  in  distant  parts  of  the  city, 
entirely  unaffected  by  this  great  project,  should  bear  the  same 
proportion  of  the  burden  as  that  which  was  so  conspicuously 
advantaged?  It  is  true  that  this  improvement  is  entirely  self- 
supporting,  interest  and  amortization  charges  being  provided 
from  the  rental  paid  by  the  operating  company;  but  the  local 
benefit  was  so  clearly  established  that  the  Rapid  Transit  Law 
was  so  amended  as  to  permit  the  assessment  of  any  part  of  the 
cost  of  future  subways.  Many  new  transit  lines  are  now  being 
built,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  them  will  be  self-supporting 


366  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

for  years,  the  route  furnishing  the  most  intensive  traffic  having 
been  followed  by  the  first  line.  The  property  owners  along  this 
first  route  having  secured  their  benefit  without  direct  tax,  those 
along  the  new  lines  vehemently  and  successfully  opposed  being 
assessed  for  theirs. 

Assume  that  an  important  new  building  is  to  be  erected  in 
a  part  of  the  city  where  real  estate  values  are  relatively  low,  or 
at  least  stationary;  that  this  building — a  new  city  hall,  court- 
house, library  or  municipal  office  building — is  to  be  of  a  monu- 
mental character  and  is  to  be  provided  with  a  site  which  will  be 
suitable  to  its  design,  or  that  provision  is  to  be  made  for  a  group 
of  such  buildings  which  will  ultimately  be  erected.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  the  neighborhood  in  which  such  a  building  or  such 
a  civic  center  is  to  be  located  will  assume  a  new  character,  and 
that  the  property  all  about  it  will  be  increased  greatly  in  value. 
It  may  be  doubled,  or  even  trebled,  by  the  time  the  first  of  these 
buildings  shall  have  been  completed.  Is  it  fair  or  just  that  the 
owners  of  the  property  in  its  vicinity  should  be  enriched  through 
no  action  of  their  own,  and  that  they  should  bear  only  the  same 
proportion  of  the  expense,  according  to  the  taxable  value  of 
their  holdings,  as  will  those  owning  property  in  distant  parts 
of  the  city,  the  value  of  which  will  be  slightly  if  at  all  affected? 
A  considerable  portion  of  the  benefit  will  undoubtedly  be  general 
and  extend  to  the  entire  city,  but  that  there  will  be  also  a  local 
benefit  cannot  be  doubted.  There  may  be  doubt  as  to  the 
equity  or  wisdom  of  assessing  any  pait  of  the  cost  of  the  building 
or  buildings  themselves,  although  that  is  a  debatable  question; 
but  with  respect  to  the  effect  of  location  of  the  site  and  the 
erection  of  the  buildings  upon  the  particular  neighborhood  there 
can  be  little  question. 

It  needs  no  extended  argument  to  prove  the  equity  and 
wisdom  of  local  assessment  wherever  there  is  local  benefit. 
That  it  has  not  been  done  in  the  past  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
not  be  done  in  the  future.  That  certain  property  owners  have 
heretofore  been  treated  with  prodigal  liberality  is  no  good 
reason  why  others  should  fatten  through  a  continuation  of  an 


Financing  a  City  Plan  367 

irrational  and  essentially  unfair  policy.  To  the  degree  that 
the  assessment  plan  is  adopted,  to  the  same  degree  will  the  city 
place  itself  upon  a  cash  rather  than  upon  a  credit  basis.  It 
may  be  urged  that  the  adoption  of  such  a  policy  would  dis- 
courage the  agitation  for  and  execution  of  many  desirable 
city  planning  projects;  that  American  cities  have  been  slow 
to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  intelhgent  city  planning,  and 
now  that  there  has  been  a  marked  awakening  it  would  be  unwise 
to  suggest  the  adoption  of  a  policy  which  might  dampen  this 
new-bom  enthusiasm.  A  desire  for  something  which  involves 
no  direct  cost  is  not  a  sign  of  intelligent  interest.  We  are 
learning  that  the  improvement  of  our  cities  pays.  That  is  a 
hopeful  sign.  If  we  have  simply  reached  the  stage  where  we 
want  better  conditions  only  if  some  one  else  is  to  pay  the  bills, 
the  hope  has  not  a  very  substantial  basis.  If  we  want  them 
badly  enough  to  pay  for  them  ourselves  in  proportion  to  the 
benefit  we  feel  sure  will  follow,  we  are  making  real  progress. 
Assuming  that  a  case  has  been  made  in  favor  of  assessing 
the  cost  of  all  improvements  in  accordance  with  prospective 
benefit,  we  are  still  confronted  with  a  very  difficult  problem. 
The  direct  and  indirect  benefit  must  be  estimated  in  advance. 
We  cannot  first  carry  out  our  city  planning  schemes  and  after- 
wards determine  how  the  cost  is  to  be  met.  Furthermore, 
we  must  determine  to  what  extent  the  benefit  will  be  strictly 
local,  to  what  degree  it  will  extend  to  a  larger  tributary  area, 
and,  again,  how  much  it  will  mean  to  the  entire  city  or  metro- 
politan district. 

In  the  small  town — and  no  town  is  so  small  that  these  prob- 
lems will  not  arise — the  creation  of  a  public  square  about  which 
or  in  which  the  chief  buildings,  including,  perhaps,  the  churches, 
are  to  be  grouped,  is  of  general  interest  and  benefit  to  the  entire 
community.  All  public  activities,  and  even  recreation  and 
amusements,  will  center  there,  and  it  will  be  conceded  that  the 
town  itself  should  properly  pay  the  expense.  The  most  valuable 
property  will  be  that  fronting  upon  this  square,  so  that  if  its 
creation  will  result  in  special  benefit  to  the  surrounding  property. 


368  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

that  property  will  bear  a  correspondingly  large  burden.  If  the 
main  street  of  the  town  needs  widening,  straightening  or  ex- 
tending, the  benefit  again  will  apply  to  the  entire  community. 
But  the  town  grows  and  becomes  a  city.  Other  main  streets 
must  be  provided;  other  centers  of  activity  or  recreation  aie 
needed.  These  new  projects  will  still  result  in  some  general 
benefit,  but  in  a  large  measure  of  special  benefit.  The  eJEfect 
upon  the  property  in  their  neighborhood  will  be  proportionately 
greater  and  more  exclusive  than  in  the  case  of  the  first  village 
green  or  town  square.  The  entire  community  will  doubtless 
feel  the  benefit  of  the  new  improvement,  but  in  less  degree,  as 
it  tends  to  create  a  new  center  and  diffuse,  rather  than  concen- 
trate, business  and  other  activities.  The  town  can  still  afford 
to  contribute  towards  the  expense,  but  the  fair  proportion  to 
be  assumed  by  it  will  be  less  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
special  benefit  resulting  to  the  particular  locality.  The  ability 
of  the  town  or  city  to  contribute  toward  the  expense  of  such 
undertakings  will  vary  in  different  cases,  depending  upon  the 
other  burdens  which  it  may  have  assumed  or  to  which  it  may 
have  pledged  its  credit;  depending  upon  whether  the  city  is 
deriving  substantial  revenue  from  privileges  granted  to  public 
service  or  other  corporations  or  individuals;  depending  upon 
whether  it  is  conducting  certain  activities  at  a  profit  or  whether 
they  are  being  conducted  at  a  loss  for  the  benefit  of  the  public 
using  them,  and  depending  especially  upon  whether  the  city  has 
already  borrowed  to  such  an  extent  that  an  issue  of  further 
obligations  would  impair  its  credit.  Again  it  remains  for  the 
town  or  city  to  determine,  if  it  is  to  pay  all  or  a  portion  of  the 
cost  of  any  particular  improvement,  and  even  if  its  credit  is 
such  that  it  can  borrow  the  funds  necessary,  whether  it  will 
issue  its  bonds  for  a  long  term  of  years,  or  whether  it  will  carry 
out  the  improvement  on  a  cash  basis  by  providing  for  it  in  one 
or  more  tax  levies  or  by  short-term  bonds  which  will  be  retired 
soon  after  the  completion  of  the  work. 

In  the  case  of  strictly  residential  streets,  the  purpose  of  which 
is  to  give  light,  air  and  access  to  the  dwellings  located  upon  them, 


Financing  a  City  Plan  369 

the  benefit  will  be  entirely  local,  and  the  entire  cost  can  properly 
be  imposed  upon  the  abutting  property.  When  a  highway  is 
given  a  more  generous  width,  in  the  expectation  that  it  will  be 
called  upon  to  accommodate  a  certain  amount  of  through  traffic, 
the  benefit  is  more  general,  and  the  assessment  area  in  such 
a  case  may  be  extended  to  a  line  midway  between  it  and  the 
next  street  of  more  than  residential  width.  The  major  part 
of  the  expense  should,  however,  be  confined  to  the  abutting 
property,  so  that  the  cost  to  it  shall  be  somewhat  more  than 
that  of  a  narrower  street.  In  the  case  of  arterial  thorough- 
fares, or  in  that  of  the  first  street  to  be  opened  through  an 
undeveloped  territory,  the  effect  of  which  will  be  to  give  access 
to  and  stimulate  the  development  of  a  large  district,  the  area 
of  benefit  may  be  correspondingly  enlarged.  Again,  in  the 
case  of  thoroughfares  of  exceptional  width  which  it  is  proposed 
to  treat  as  boulevards  or  parkways,  the  entire  city  or  metropoli- 
tan district  will  be  substantially  benefited  and  should  bear  a 
portion  of  the  expense;  in  fact,  the  state  itself  may  derive  an 
advantage  which  would  justify  its  assumption  of  a  portion  of 
the  cost;  but  the  disposition  to  recognize  such  an  obligation  on 
the  part  of  the  state  is  exceedingly  rare,  even  though  a  great 
city  within  its  Hmits  may,  through  its  large  taxable  values, 
contribute  the  greater  part  of  the  state's  revenues  by  which 
its  rural  highway  system  is  maintained. 

In  the  case  of  parks  this  same  principle  might  be  applied. 
Some  small  parks  are  of  strictly  local  benefit,  and  their  cost 
could  properly  be  placed  upon  the  district  in  which  they  are 
located.  Every  park,  whether  small  or  large,  is  of  some  local 
benefit,  even  if  such  benefit  were  deemed  to  consist  solely  in 
unobstructed  light  and  air  to  the  property  on  the  surrounding 
streets. 

In  the  case  of  street  widenings  or  the  cutting  of  new  streets 
through  built-up  sections,  the  local  advantage  is  less  marked, 
though  it  will  always  follow.  The  mere  fact  that  a  \\ddening  or 
extension  is  required  to  accommodate  traffic  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  the  street  has  assumed  more  than  local  importance. 


370  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  width  of  the  road  as  widened  is  not  an  index  of  its  local  or 
general  importance.  There  may  be  cases  where  the  opening 
up  of  a  new  street  of  a  width  commonly  given  to  local  streets, 
and  extending  for  a  very  short  distance,  would,  on  account  of 
its  strategic  position,  be  of  great  general  and  of  little  local  benefit. 

It  is  quite  apparent  that  the  relative  local,  district,  or 
general  benefit  of  any  street  or  other  improvement  can  be 
determined  neither  by  its  dimensions  nor  its  cost.  An  improve- 
ment involving  an  expenditure  of  $1,000,000  in  one  part  of  the 
city  may  be  more  distinctly  local  in  its  beneficial  effect  than  one 
costing  $50,000  in  another  section.  No  fixed  rule  can  be  estab- 
lished to  govern  the  distribution  of  expense.  It  must  be  de- 
termined in  each  case  after  a  painstaking  investigation.  Such 
investigation  should  not  be  intrusted  to  a  dift'erent  individual, 
board  or  commission  in  each  case.  There  should  be  a  per- 
manent body  which  should  act  in  all  cases.  This  body  should 
not  be  large,  and  it  should  be  so  constituted  that  its  entire 
personnel  could  not  be  changed  at  once,  thus  insuring  continuity 
and  consistency  of  policy.  They  should  be  broad  men  whose 
training  should  have  fitted  them  for  their  difficult  and  delicate 
duties.  The  misleading  evidence  commonly  called  expert 
testimony  as  to  existing  and  prospective  values  will  be  of  little 
assistance  to  them.  They  should  be  qualified  by  experience 
and  intelligence  to  form  their  own  conclusions. 

While  no  definite  rule  can  be  adopted  to  govern  the  dis- 
tribution of  assessments  representing  the  district  and  general 
benefit,  it  should  be  possible  to  prescribe  a  method  of  deter- 
mining the  amount  and  extent  of  local  benefit,  particularly 
in  the  case  of  new  streets,  boulevards  and  parks.  Let  us 
assume  that  60  ft.  is  the  maximum  width  required  for  a  local 
street;  then  the  entire  cost  of  acquiring  and  improving  all 
streets  60  ft.  or  less  in  width  may  properly  be  placed  upon 
the  property  within  a  half  block  on  either  side  of  the  street. 
In  the  case  of  wider  streets  that  proportion  of  the  cost  repre- 
sented by  the  ratio  which  60  ft.  plus  25  per  cent  of  the  excess 
over  60  ft.  bears  to  the  width  of  the  street  would  probably  be 


Financing  a  City  Plan 


371 


an  equitable  proportion  to  assess  upon  the  local  district.  Up 
to  a  certain  limit  property  fronting  a  wide  street  is  more  valuable, 
and  it  would  manifestly  be  unfair  to  adopt  a  rule  which  would 
result  in  making  the  cost  of  acquiring  a  street  70  or  80  ft.  wide 
no  greater  or  possibly  less  to  the  abutting  owner  than  would 
have  been  the  cost  of  a  street  60  ft.  wide.  On  the  other  hand, 
after  a  street  reaches  certain  proportions,  additional  width  will 
not  involve  additional  benefit.  It  may  be  assumed  that  a  share 
of  the  expense  which  would  be  equivalent  to  paying  for  a  street 


20' 


40' 


60 


80'  100'  120'         140' 

WIDTH  OF  STREET 


Fig.  61. — Diagram  showing  proposed  distribution  of  the  cost  of  acquiring 
streets  of  different  widths  between  the  abutting  property  and  larger 
areas  of  benefit. 


80  ft.  wide  should  represent  the  limit  of  local  assessment.  This 
limit  would  be  reached  under  the  rule  proposed  when  the  street 
becomes  140  ft.  wide.  The  percentage  of  cost  which  would  be 
locally  assessed  would,  therefore,  be  as  follows  for  various  street 
widths:  60  ft.,  icx)  per  cent;  70  ft.,  89.3  per  cent;  80  ft.,  81.25 
per  cent;  90  ft.,  75  per  cent;  100  ft.,  70  per  cent;  120  ft.,  62.5 
per  cent;  140  ft.,  57.1  per  cent;  150  ft.,  53.3  per  cent;  200 
ft.,  40  per  cent.  The  suggested  plan  of  distribution  is  shown 
diagrammatically  by  Fig.  6 1 . 

In  the  case  of  parks  the  problem  is  more  dijQ5cult,  the  amount 
of  local  assessment  and  the  extent  of  the  area  of  local  benefit 


372 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


being  determined  by  the  size  and  shape  of  the  park  and  facility 
of  access  to  it  from  other  parts  of  the  city.  In  any  case,  no 
rule  should  be  adopted  until  it  has  been  carefully  tested  and  it 
has  been  demonstrated  that  the  assessments  levied  in  accord- 


Per  Cent  of  Distance 


Fig.   62. — Diagram    showing   a  method   of   grading    assessments    for   benefit 
according  to  the  distance  from  the  street  or  park  to  be  acquired. 


ance  with  it  will  constantly  decrease  with  the  distance  from  the 
improvement.  This  decrease  should  not  be  directly  in  propor- 
tion to  the  distance,  but  in  a  geometrical  ratio.  A  curve  to 
determine  the  distribution  of  the  assessment  after  the  limits  of 
the  district  have  been  decided  has  been  proposed  by  Mr.  Arthur 


Financing  a  City  Plan  373 

S.  Tuttle,  Deputy  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment  of  the  City  of  New  York,  in  accordance 
with  which  about  32.5  per  cent  of  the  assessment  would  be 
placed  upon  the  first  10  per  cent  of  the  distance  to  the  outer 
limit  of  the  area  of  benefit,  55  per  cent  upon  the  first  25  per 
cent,  and  80  per  cent  upon  the  district  extending  half  way  to  the 
boundary  of  the  assessment  area  (Fig.  62).  This  diagram 
can  also  be  used  to  determine  the  extent  and  boundaries  of  the 
area  of  benefit  for  properly  graduated  assessments  when  the 
amount  of  the  frontage  assessment  shall  have  been  decided  upon. 

In  the  case  of  street  widenings  involving  the  destruction  of 
buildings,  it  is  suggested  that  the  same  general  principles  be 
adopted  as  in  the  case  of  new  streets,  but  that  they  be  applied 
to  the  land  values  only.  If  the  street  were  less  than  60  ft. 
wide,  the  proportion  of  expense  for  the  additional  land  in  order 
to  make  it  60  ft.  would  be  assessed  upon  the  half  block  on  each 
side,  while  for  all  excess  over  60  ft.  the  same  rule  already  pro- 
posed could  be  adopted.  For  instance,  if  a  street  50  ft.  wide 
were  to  be  widened  to  80  ft.,  involving  the  acquisition  of  30  ft. 
of  additional  property,  the  first  10  ft.  required  to  make  it  60 
ft.  and  25  per  cent  of  the  20  ft.  over  60  ft. — a  total  of  15  ft.,  or 
one-half  of  the  cost  of  the  additional  land  to  be  taken — might 
be  assessed  locally,  the  expense  involved  in  damage  to  buildings 
being  placed  upon  the  secondary  area  of  benefit,  or  included  in 
the  general  assessment  if  the  improvement  is  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  involve  general  benefit.  If  the  same  street  were  to  be 
widened  to  100  ft.  the  local  assessment  under  the  same  rule 
would  be  for  20  of  the  50  ft.  to  be  acquired,  or  40  per  cent  of  the 
total  land  damage,  the  damage  to  buildings,  as  'before,  being 
included  in  the  larger  district  or  general  assessment. 

It  will  sometimes  happen  that  a  new  street  to  be  acquired 
will  include  an  old  road  or  portions  of  a  narrower  street  where 
a  number  of  buildings  will  be  damaged,  but  where  it  could  not 
reasonably  be  treated  as  a  street  widening,  although  the  appKca- 
tion  of  the  rule  first  proposed  would  involve  an  unduly  heavy 
local  assessment.     In  such  cases  the  following  treatment  is 


374  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

suggested:  estimate  as  closely  as  possible  the  value  of  the  land 
to  be  acquired  and  make  a  separate  estimate  of  the  building 
damage;  then  add  to  the  width  of  the  street  a  proportion  of 
that  width  determined  by  the  ratio  of  the  building  damage  to 
the  land  damage,  and  arrive  at  an  equated  width  of  the  street 
in  accordance  with  which  the  local,  secondary  and  general 
benefit  can  be  determined,  as  already  described.  If,  for  instance, 
a  street  is  to  be  8d  ft.  wide,  and  if  the  estimated  building  damage 
is  50  per  cent  that  of  the  estimated  land  damage,  50  per  cent  of 
the  width  of  the  street  might  be  added,  giving  an  equated  width 
of  120  ft.,  and  the  local  assessment  might  be  determined  for  such 
a  width,  in  which  case  it  would  be  62.5  per  cent  of  the  total  cost 
instead  of  81.25  per  cent,  as  would  have  been  the  case  had  the 
rule  been  applied  for  an  80-ft.  street. 

Special  cases  will  undoubtedly  arise  which  would  require 
special  treatment,  but  it  is  probable  that  in  the  great  majority 
of  improvements  the  method  proposed  would  result  in  an  equi- 
table distribution  of  the  burden.  Those  who  are  to  pay  the  bills 
have  a  right  to  know  in  advance  how  the  costs  are  to  be  appor- 
tioned, and  the  formulation  of  a  poUcy  which  can  be  consistently 
followed  is  not  only  desirable  but  necessary. 

The  problem  of  determining  whether  or  not  there  is  general 
benefit  and  the  proportion  of  the  cost  representing  such  benefit 
will  be  difficult.  The  diagrams  show  what  might  be  an  equitable 
distribution  in  average  cases,  but  there  will  be  many  that  will 
require  special  treatment,  and  no  rule  will  fit  all  of  them.  De- 
mands are  Hkely  to  be  made  for  the  treatment  of  streets  which 
will  serve  a  Hmited  district  as  though  they  were  thorough- 
fares of  metropolitan  importance,  and  these  should  be  consis- 
tently denied,  however  powerful  may  be  the  influences  behind 
them. 

Where  the  financial  condition  of  the  city  will  permit,  the 
burdens  of  the  property  owner  can  be  considerably  lightened 
by  the  recognition  of  deferred  benefit  and  a  correspondingly 
deferred  assessment.  In  this  case  the  city  would  carry  the  ac- 
count until  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  improvement  should 


Financing  a  City  Plan  375 

have  been  fully  realized,  or,  in  other  words,  should  have  been 
reflected  in  actual  increase  in  values.  Similar  relief  could  be 
given  by  permitting  the  payment  of  assessments  in  instalments 
carrying  a  moderate  rate  of  interest.  Either  plan  would  require 
larger  capital  to  finance  such  improvements,  and  would  to  that 
extent  impair  the  city's  borrowing  capacity  for  other  purposes. 
These,  however,  are  matters  of  detail  and  have  to  do  with  the 
manner  of  collection  of  the  assessments  rather  than  the  distri- 
bution of  the  expense. 

The  practice  of  assessing  the  cost  of  street  or  local  improve- 
ments is  probably  more  general  in  the  United  States  than  in 
other  countries  and  it  is  accepted  as  an  equitable  and  rational 
plan.  A  paper  read  before  the  Municipal  Engineers  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  in  May,  1914,  by  Mr.  WilHam  C.  Ormond,  Pres- 
ident  of  the  New  York  City  Board  of  Assessors,  contained  an 
interesting  review  of  the  manner  in  which  this  poHcy  has  been 
developed,  first  to  a  Hmited  extent  in  England  and  later  and 
more  fully  in  America.^ 

One  of  the  earhest  statutes  which  specifically  recognized  the 
theory  of  assessment  according  to  benefit  was  enacted,  in  1787, 
by  the  state  legislature  of  New  York,  and  applied  to  New  York 
City;  it  read  in  part  as  follows: 

And  for  the  better  affecting  thereof  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to 
and  for  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  commonalty  of  the  said  city  in  common 
council  convened,  to  cause  to  be  made  an  estimate  or  estimates,  of  the 
expense  of  conforming  to  such  regulations  aforesaid  and  adjust  an  equitable 
assessment  thereof  among  the  owners  or  occupants  of  all  the  houses  and 
lots  intended  to  be  benefited  thereby  in  proportion  as  nearly  as  may  be, 
to  the  advantage  which  each  may  be  deemed  to  acquire  respectively. 
And  in  order  that  the  same  may  be  safely  and  impartially  performed,  said 
common  council  shall,  from  time  to  time,  appoint  five  sufficient  and 
disinterested  freeholders  for  every  such  purpose,  who,  before  they  enter 
into  the  execution  of  their  trust,  shall  be  duly  sworn  before  the  said  mayor 
or  recorder,  to  make  the  said  estimate  and  assessment  fairly  and  impartially 
according  to  the  best  of  their  skill  and  judgment;  and  a  certificate  in 
writing  of  such  estimate  and  assessment  being  returned  to  said  common 

*  Proceedings  of  Municipal  Engineers  of  the  City  of  New  York  for  1914. 


376  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

council  and  ratified  by  them  shall  be  binding  and  conclusive  upon  the 
owners  or  occupants  of  such  lots  so  to  be  assessed  respectively;  and  such 
owners  or  occupants  respectively  shall  thereupon  become  and  be  liable 
and  be  chargeable,  and  are  hereby  required  to  pay  such  person  as  shall  be 
authorized  by  said  common  council  to  receive  the  same,  the  sum  at  which 
such  house  or  lot  shall  be  assessed  to  be  employed  and  applied  for  and 
toward  the  making,  altering,  amending,  pitching,  paving  and  scouring  such 
streets,  and  making,  constructing  and  repairing  such  vaults,  drains  and 
sewers  aforesaid ;  and  in  default  of  payment  thereof  or  any  part  thereof  it 
shall  be  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  mayor,  recorder  and  aldermen  of  the 
said  city  or  any  five  of  them  of  whom  the  mayor  or  recorder  be  one  by 
warrant  under  their  hands  and  seals,  to  levy  the  said  sum  or  sums  of 
money  so  assessed,  by  distress  and  sale  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  the 
owner  or  occupant  of  such  house  or  lot,  so  assessed,  and  refusing  or  neglect- 
ing to  pay  the  same;  rendering  the  over-plus,  if  any  there  be,  after  de- 
ducting the  sum  assessed  and  the  charges  of  distress  and  sale  to  such  owner 
or  occupant  respectively,  or  their  legal  representative. 

Mr.  Ormond  refers  to  a  decision  of  a  Kansas  court  upon 
the  legality  of  special  assessments  for  benefit,  which  said : 

There  is  a  justice  in  this  arrangement  which  commends  itself  to  any 
right-thinking  man,  but  the  injustice  of  assessing  property  all  over  a  city 
for  the  improvement  of  a  single  street  must  be  apparent  at  a  glance. 

The  opinion  of  a  Mississippi  judge  is  also  quoted,  as  follows : 

I  concede  that  the  system  of  local  assessment  is  liable  to  abuse,  for 
which  reason  courts  should  scrutinize  its  application  with  care  and  also 
see  that  an  equitable  share  of  the  burden  should  be  borne  by  the  public; 
but  it  will  be  readily  foreseen  that  if  the  whole  local  charge  for  local  im- 
provements is  to  be  borne  by  the  city  treasury,  grievous  abuses  might  be 
practised  upon  the  inhabitants  generally  to  subserve  the  local  interests 
of  designing  men  holding  property  in  a  particular  neighborhood. 

The  charter  of  the  city  of  New  York  provides  for  the  crea- 
tion of  one  fund  known  as  the  "  street  improvement  fund," 
from  which  is  paid  in  the  first  instance  the  cost  of  all  physical 
improvements,  such  as  regulating,  grading  and  curbing  of 
streets,  the  laying  of  sidewalks  and  roadway  pavements  and 
the  construction  of  sewers  and  all  works  connected  with  the 
collection,  treatment  and  disposal  of  sewage,  and  another 
known  as  the  "  fund  for  street  and  park  openings,"  from  which 


Financing  a  City  Plan  377 


is  paid  the  cost  of  acquiring  title  to  all  property  needed  for  streets 
or  parks.  When  the  work  is  completed  and  the  cost  ascertained 
the  entire  amount  is  assessed  upon  the  property  benefited  in 
proportion  to  the  benefit.  While  the  Board  of  Estimate  and 
Apportionment  is  given  power  in  all  cases  to  determine  what 
part  of  the  cost  is  to  be  assessed  and  what  part  is  to  be  paid  by 
the  city,  the  entire  cost  is  usually  assessed,  and  only  in  excep- 
tional cases,  where  the  general  benefit  is  obvious  or  the  assess- 
ment appears  to  be  more  than  the  actual  benefit,  does  the  city 
assume  any  part  of  the  cost.  The  presumption  is  that  both  of 
these  funds  will  be  self-sustaining,  inasmuch  as  when  assess- 
ments are  not  paid  promptly  interest  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent 
annually  is  charged  as  a  penalty.  The  funds,  however,  occa- 
sionally have  to  be  replenished  to  make  good  the  assessments 
which  fall  upon  city  property,  the  portion  of  the  cost  which  is 
occasionally  assumed  by  the  city  and  such  small  portions  of 
individual  assessments  as  cannot  be  collected  owing  to  a  pro- 
vision in  the  city  charter  that  no  assessment  can  be  levied  which, 
in  the  case  of  a  single  improvement,  exceeds  one-half  the  fair 
value  of  the  property.  It  was  formerly  the  custom  to  insist 
upon  payment  of  the  entire  assessment  at  once,  but  since  191 2, 
assessments  amounting  to  a  total  exceeding  five  per  cent  of  the 
value  of  the  property  as  assessed  for  purposes  of  taxation  may, 
upon  the  application  of  the  owner,  be  paid  in  ten  annual  instal- 
ments, all  deferred  payments  carrying  five  per  cent  interest. 

In  other  cities  the  right  to  assess  has  been  availed  of  in  carry- 
ing out  extensive  city  planning  or  replanning  projects.  Chicago 
is  making  a  start  on  its  ambitious  plan  for  the  reconstruction  of 
the  city.  The  first  street  improvement  to  be  undertaken  is  the 
widening  of  Twelfth  street  from  66  ft.  to  108  ft.  for  a  distance  of 
i^  miles,  and  to  118  ft.  for  about  half  a  mile.  The  cost  of  the 
acquisition  of  the  land  needed  for  this  widening  is  estimated 
to  be  $3,000,000,  and  of  this  amount  one  half  is  to  be  raised  by 
a  bond  issue  and  the  remaining  half  is  to  be  assessed  upon  the 
property  benefited,  the  area  of  assessment  covering  about  10 
square  miles.    Another  important  feature  of  the  Chicago  plan 


378  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

is  the  widening  and  extension  northwardly  of  Michigan  avenue, 
this  widening  being  from  66  ft.  to  130  ft.  for  a  portion  of  the 
distance,  and  to  141  ft.  for  the  remaining  distance.  A  consid- 
erable portion  of  this  extension  is  to  have  two  levels.  Buildings 
will  have  their  entrances  on  the  upper  level,  while  the  lower 
level,  corresponding  with  the  present  street,  will  be  used  for 
receiving  and  shipping  purposes.  The  total  cost  of  this  improve- 
ment is  estimated  to  be  nearly  $8,000,000,  of  which  the  city 
at  large  is  to  contribute  $3,800,000,  while  part  of  the  remainder 
is  to  be  paid  by  railroad  companies  which  are  affected,  and  a 
substantial  portion  is  to  be  assessed  for  benefit. 

There  are  cases  where  improvements  are  carried  out  on  such 
an  extensive  scale  and  the  cost  of  municipal  administration  is  so 
great  that  they  cannot  in  justice  be  imposed  entirely  or  even  in 
large  part  upon  the  community.  This  is  likely  to  be  the  case 
in  a  great  capital  city.  Former  President  Taft,  writing  of  the 
special  difficulty  of  financing  the  improvement  of  Washington, 
says: 

"  While  they  have  to  pay  but  half  of  the  expense  of  the 
city  government,  that  half  is  greater  than  most  cities  of  Wash- 
ington's class  impose  upon  their  people.  There  are  two  reasons 
for  this.  The  first  of  these  is  that  no  other  city  of  its  class  has 
so  many  unusual  expenses  to  meet.  For  instance,  no  other  city 
has  so  many  square  feet  of  street  surface  to  maintain.  ...  In 
every  department  of  its  activities  its  expenses  are  somewhat 
unusual,  this  being  due  to  the  fact  that  the  city  is  the  home  of 
the  federal  government  and  must  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
a  National  Capital.  The  second  reason  why  the  burden  of 
even  one-half  of  the  expenses  of  the  city  government  is  heavier 
than  the  expenses  of  most  cities  is  that  Washington  has  but  one 
industry,  which  is  government,  and  that  industry  but  one  prod- 
uct, which  is  politics.  With  no  important  wealth-producing 
industries  to  swell  the  incomes  of  the  people  of  the  capital, 
with  every  activity  discouraged  that  would  detract  from  the 
beauty  of  the  city,  per  capita  ability  to  pay  taxes  is  smaller  in 
Washington  than  in  most  cities.     Hence,  it  is  that  even  the 


Financing  a  City  Plan  379 

half-and-half  plan  still  leaves  Washington  a  rather  heavily- 
taxed  municipality."  Mr.  Taft  quotes  from  a  report  of  a  com- 
mittee recommending  the  adoption  of  the  half-and-half  plan 
the  following  statement:  "There  is  something  revolting  to 
a  proper  sense  of  justice  in  the  idea  that  the  United  States 
should  hold  free  from  taxation  more  than  half  of  the  area  of  the 
Capital  City,  and  should  be  required  to  maintain  a  city  upon  an 
unusually  expensive  scale,  from  which  the  ordinary  revenues 
derived  from  commerce  and  manufactures  are  excluded;  that 
in  such  a  case  the  burden  of  maintaining  the  expenses  of  the 
Capital  City  should  fall  entirely  upon  the  resident  population." 

There  is  another  method  by  which  the  expense  of  acquir- 
ing new  streets  and  parks,  or  of  widening  existing  streets,  or  of 
any  other  improvement  involving  the  expropriation  of  land, 
could  be  met,  at  least  in  part ;  namely,  by  the  exercise  of  what  is 
called  the  right  of  excess  condemnation ;  that  is,  by  the  taking  of 
more  land  than  is  needed  and  the  sale  of  the  surplusage  after 
the  improvement  shall  have  been  carried  out  and  the  increase 
in  values  due  to  it  shall  have  been  realized.  While  this  power 
has  long  been  exercised  by  European  cities  it  has  infrequently 
and  reluctantly  been  granted  to  those  of  the  United  States. 

Most  of  the  state  constitutions  limit  the  compulsory  taking 
of  private  property  to  the  precise  land  needed  for  a  specific 
public  improvement,  and  constitutional  amendments  are 
necessary  before  this  power  of  excess  condemnation  can  be  exer- 
cised Such  amendments  when  made  commonly  go  no  further 
than  to  permit  the  state  legislatures  to  authorize  by  general 
or  special  acts  any  or  all  of  the  cities  in  the  state  to  acquire 
more  land  than  is  needed  for  a  specific  purpose.  An  amend- 
ment to  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  was 
adopted  at  the  general  election  of  19 13,  made  this  instrument 
read  as  follows : 

''  The  legislature  may  authorize  cities  to  take  more  land  and 
property  than  is  needed  for  actual  construction,  in  the  laying 
out,  widening,  extending  or  relocating  parks,  public  places, 
highways  or  streets,  provided,   however,   that    the  additional 


380  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

land  or  property  so  authorized  to  be  taken  shall  be  no  more 
than  sufficient  to  form  suitable  building  sites  abutting  on 
such  park,  pubHc  place,  highway  or  street.  After  so  much 
of  the  land  or  property  had  been  appropriated  as  is  needed 
therefor,  the  remainder  may  be  sold  or  leased." 

An  amendment  previously  submitted  to  the  people,  which 
did  not  contain  the  restriction  as  to  the  amount  of  land  or 
property  which  might  be  taken  in  excess  of  that  actually  needed 
for  construction,  was  rejected  at  the  general  election  of  191 1. 

The  fear  has  frequently  been  expressed  that  such  a  power 
might  be  used  recklessly  or  corruptly;  and  while  this  may  have 
been  the  actual  reason  for  some  of  the  opposition,  it  is  quite 
likely  that  a  large  part  of  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that  shrewd 
real  estate  operators  have  in  the  past  derived  enormous  profits 
from  the  timely  acquisition  of  land  along  the  Une  of  a  proposed 
improvement,  the  receipt  of  large  sums  for  the  portions  taken 
and  the  great  enhancement  in  the  value  of  the  property  that 
remained   owing  to  the  beneficial   effect  of  the   improvement. 
The  idea  of  excess  condemnation  is  based,  in  part,  upon  a  very 
practical   consideration  and,  in  part,  upon  a  theory  which  is 
regarded  as  thoroughly  sound  in  European  countries,  but  which 
has  not  yet  been  generally  accepted  in  America.     The  practical 
consideration  is  that  it  will  avoid  the  serious  mutilation  of 
property  by  leaving  unusable  remnants.     If  these  remnants 
can  be  taken  by  the  city  they  can  be  combined  into  marketable 
lots,  and  the  development  along  the  line  of  the  new  or  widened 
street  will  be  more  rapid  and  its  appearance  will  be  more  sightly. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  narrow  strips  of  property  too  small 
to  accommodate  buildings  left  along  a  new  street  which  is  an 
important  traffic  thoroughfare,  and  which  would  be  lined  with 
valuable  business  houses  if  these  strips  could  be  combined  and 
added  to  adjacent  property  to  furnish  proper  sites  for  such 
buildings.    The    separately    owned    remnants    are    commonly 
rented  for  advertising  signs  or  for  bootblack,  lunch  or  news- 
stands, cigar  shops  or  some  business  that  can  be  carried  on  in  a 
few  square  feet  of  space. 


Financing  a  City  Plan  381 

The  theory  referred  to  is  that  of  the  right  of  the  city  to  take 
for  itself  a  part  of  the  unearned  increment  or  the  increase  in 
value  of  property  which  has  been  brought  about  through  no 
act  of  the  owner,  but  through  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  city  or  some  public  improvement  carried  out  by  the  city. 
This  idea  is  gradually  making  headway  in  the  United  States, 
and  it  is  quite  probable  that  it  will  soon  be  generally  accepted 
as  equitable  and  businesslike. 

The  extent  to  which  shrewd  investors  are  able  to  profit  by 
city  undertakings  may  be  illustrated  by  a  concrete  example. 
In  a  large  city  in  the  United  States  it  became  necessary  to 
increase  the  width  of  a  certain  street  from  50  to  80  ft.,  and  to 
accomphsh  this  a  strip  30  ft.  in  width  was  taken  from  the 
property  on  one  side  of  the  street  for  the  entire  distance,  reducing 
the  depth  of  the  lots  on  this  side  from  100  to  70  ft.  One  par- 
ticular lot,  20  ft.  in  width,  with  an  old  three-story  brick  house 
on  it,  was  bought  just  before  the  widening  by  a  man  who 
habitually  kept  himself  well  informed  concerning  contemplated 
improvements,  the  price  paid  being  $11,000.  He  was  awarded 
$10,000  as  compensation  for  the  destruction  of  the  house  and 
for  damage  to  the  lot  owing  to  the  decrease  in  its  depth ;  but  so 
greatl)^  did  the  widening  of  the  street  increase  the  value  of  the 
abutting  property  that  within  a  few  months  he  sold  the  remnant, 
a  lot  but  70  ft.  in  depth,  with  no  building  on  it,  for  $12,000, 
or  $1000  more  than  the  cost  to  him  a  few  months  earher  of  the 
full-depth  lot  and  house,  besides  having  been  paid  damages  to 
the  amount  of  $10,000.  The  city,  to  finance  this  improvement, 
was  obliged  to  borrow  the  sum  of  $2,022,700  for  a  term  of  30 
years.  The  municipal  authorities  had  determined  to  assess 
upon  the  neighboring  property  one-third  of  the  cost  of  the 
improvement,  but  there  were  vigorous  protests  against  the 
injustice  of  such  a  procedure,  and  by  a  mandatory  legislative 
act  the  entire  cost  was  thrown  back  upon  the  municipal  treasury. 
Had  the  city  possessed  the  power  to  acquire  the  entire  row  of 
lots  on  the  side  of  the  street  which  was  to  be  taken  for  the 
widening  it  might  have  been  able  to  sell  the  surplus  land,  not 


382  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

at  the  ICO  per  cent  profit  realized  by  the  individual  referred  to, 
but  for  such  a  sum  as  would  nearly,  if  not  quite,  have  covered 
the  cost  of  the  undertaking,  and  would  thus  have  secured  the 
improvement  without  incurring  a  large  debt  for  a  long  term  of 
years. 

A  resort  to  the  principle  of  excess  condemnation  may  appear 
somewhat  inconsistent  with  the  policy  of  assessing  in  whole  or 
in  part  the  cost  of  the  acquisition  of  property  for  new  streets, 
for  widening  existing  streets,  for  the  acquisition  of  parks,  or  any 
other  public  purpose.  That  is,  it  may  be  argued  that  if  the 
city  is  to  acquire  more  land  than  is  needed  for  a  particular 
improvement  it  would  obviously  be  unfair  to  assess  upon  an 
area  of  benefit  any  part  of  the  expense  of  acquiring  such  addi- 
tional land,  or  even  acquiring  the  land  actually  needed  for  the 
improvement  if  entire  parcels  which  include  surplus  land  are 
to  be  taken.  There  is  no  reason,  however,  why  the  principle 
of  assessment  should  not  be  combined  with  that  of  excess  con- 
demnation, and  there  is  no  good  reason  to  beHeve  that  assess- 
ments for  improvements  of  this  kind  would  be  increased,  while 
it  is  quite  likely  that  the  burdens  would  be  lightened.  If  a 
portion  of  a  lot  containing  a  building  falls  within  the  lines  of 
the  improvement,  and  if  only  the  portion  required  for  such  im- 
provement were  to  be  taken  and  paid  for,  it  is  probable  that 
the  owner  would  be  paid  for  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
building  and  for  the  mutilation  of  the  lot  by  decreasing  its  depth 
or  spoiling  its  shape.  If  the  entire  lot  were  taken  it  would  seem 
fair  and  proper  to  credit  the  expense  of  acquiring  that  portion 
of  the  lot  needed  for  the  improvement  with  the  salvage,  if  any 
there  be,  on  the  building,  owing  to  the  fact  that  some  of  it  will 
be  left;  in  many  cases  this  will  represent  a  very  small  proportion 
of  the  value  of  the  building,  but  there  are  cases  where  it  will  be 
considerable.  It  might  also  be  fair,  if  the  entire  lot  were  taken, 
to  charge  up  to  the  improvement  only  such  proportion  of  the 
land  value  as  is  represented  by  the  part  of  the  lot  area  falling 
within  the  fines  of  the  proposed  improvement,  thus  lightening 
the  burden  of  assessment  by  eliminating  the  element  of  con- 


Financing  a  City  Plan  383 

sequential  damage.  This  might  be  unfair  to  the  city  at  large, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  remnant  of  the  lot  falling  outside  of 
the  improvement  which  the  city  has  to  buy  is  worth  less  than  the 
proportion  of  the  original  lot  value  determined  by  the  relative 
area,  and  an  equitable  treatment  would  be  somewhere  between 
the  two  methods  of  estimating  which  have  been  described. 

It  does  not  seem  necessary  to  depart  from  the  prevailing 
method  of  levying  assessments  in  such  cases.  The  city,  hav- 
ing acquired  the  frontage  on  the  new  or  widened  street,  could 
properly  assume  the  same  share  of  the  assessment  as  would 
have  been  imposed  upon  the  remnant  of  the  plot  had  it  remained 
in  private  ownership,  so  that  the  assessment  which  would  be 
imposed  upon  other  land  within  the  area  of  benefit  which  was  left 
in  private  ownership  would  be  no  greater  than  would  have 
been  the  case  had  no  excess  of  land  been  taken,  but  it  would 
actually  be  decreased  by  reason  of  the  ehmination  or,  at  any  rate, 
by  the  material  decrease  in  the  item  of  consequential  damage. 

The  amount  of  additional  land  to  be  taken  will  depend 
upon  the  relation  of  the  new  or  widened  street  to  the  plots 
bordering  upon  and  contiguous  to  it.  In  the  case  of  a  street 
widening  where  the  original  lots  fronted  upon  the  street  their 
depth  will  be  so  decreased  that,  if  the  new  street  is  to  be  an 
important  one,  it  may  be  desirable  to  acquire  at  least  one  addi- 
tional lot  in  the  rear  in  order  to  provide  building  plots  with  a 
depth  suitable  for  the  increased  importance  of  the  street.  If 
the  lots  fronted  upon  an  intersecting  street  and  it  seemed  desir- 
able to  rearrange  them  so  that  they  would  have  their  frontage 
on  the  widened  street  it  would  be  necessary  to  acquire  two, 
three  or  even  four  additional  lots  in  order  to  permit  advantage- 
ous replotting. 

The  right  of  excess  condemnation  when  granted  should  be 
used  with  caution  and  should  not  be  exercised  with  a  speculative 
purpose.  It  will  increase  the  first  cost  of  improvements ;  but  if 
sound  business  principles  govern  the  procedure  the  additional 
expenditure  will  be  recouped  within  a  reasonable  time  and  the 
final  net  cost  is  likely  to  be  very  materially  reduced. 


384  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  London  County  Council  has  been  following  this  plan 
sinec  1855,  and  a  volume  published  by  the  authority  of  the 
Council  in  1898  ^  contains  a  detailed  statement  of  the  first  cost 
and  the  recoupment  in  the  improvements  carried  out  by  that 
body  during  the  period  named.  The  percentage  of  the  total 
cost  which  was  recovered  by  the  sale  of  the  surplus  land  varied 
greatly.  In  the  cutting  through  of  Garrick  street  from  Long- 
acre  to  King  street,  completed  in  186 1,  it  was  72  per  cent;  in  the 
case  of  Southwark  street,  from  Blackfriars  bridge  to  High  street, 
completed  in  1864,  it  was  37  per  cent;  Queen  Victoria  street, 
from  Blackfriars  Bridge  to  Mansion  House,  1871,  53  per  cent; 
widening  High  street,  Kensington,  1869,  33  per  cent;  widening 
Tooley  street  and  other  connecting  streets,  including  provision 
for  "  rehousing  iioo  persons  of  the  laboring  class,"  17  per  cent; 
Shaftesbury  avenue  from  Piccadilly  Circus  to  Broad  street,  33 
per  cent.  In  the  history  referred  to  the  Shaftesbury  avenue 
improvement  is  cited  as  an  instance  where  a  desire  to  acquire 
as  little  property  as  possible  was  unfortunate,  and  the  opinion 
is  expressed  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  the  council  had  not 
been  "  imbued  with  such  a  strict  spirit  of  economy  as  that 
which  led  it  to  avoid  the  acquisition  of  expensive  buildings  by 
adopting  an  irregular  line  for  the  new  street,  and  to  sacrifice 
almost  every  consideration  on  the  score  of  cheapness." 

One  of  the  London  improvements  which  has  frequently  been 
referred  to  as  illustrating  how  a  great  public  enterprise,  in- 
volving the  expropriation  of  real  estate,  might  be  financed  is 
the  so-called  Strand-to-Holborn  improvement,  including  the 
widening  of  the  Strand  and  Southampton  Row  and  the  construc- 
tion of  Aldwich  and  Kingsway. 

From  a  paper  presented  by  Mr.  George  W.  Humphreys, 
Chief  Engineer  of  the  London  County  Council,  to  the  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers  in  19 10,  it  appears  that  the  total  cost  of  this 
improvement  to  March  31,  19 10,  converted  into  American 
money  and  rounded  off,  was  as  follows: 

1"  History  of  London  Street  Improvements,  1855-1887,"  by  Mr.  Percy  J. 
Edwards,  Clerk  of  the  Improvement  Committee. 


Financing  a  City  Plan  385 

Acquisition  of  property $27,237,000 

Sundry  charges,  including  rehous- 
ing and  architectural  designs 944,000 

Construction,  including  subway  and 

for  tramways 1,906,000 

Total $30,087,000 

The  credits  to  the  account  were: 

Receipts  from  sale  of  land $  1,741,000 

Estimated  value  of  surplus  land.  .       17,588,000 

Total  credits 19,329,000 

Net  cost $10,758,000 

This  statement  appears  to  cover  simply  the  disbursements 
and  receipts  on  account  of  capital.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  London  County  Council  has  made  ground  leases  for  long 
terms  from  which  it  derives  substantial  annual  rentals.  If  the 
receipts  from  that  source  were  capitaHzed  and  credited  to  the 
capital  cost,  the  amount  might  be  considerably  further  reduced. 
Taking  the  above  table  as  it  stands,  however,  it  will  be  noted 
that  of  the  total  credits  nine  per  cent  consists  of  cash  receipts 
and  91  per  cent  of  the  value  of  surplus  land,  while  of  the  gross 
capital  cost,  5.8  per  cent  has  already  been  recouped  and  58.5 
per  cent  is  represented  by  the  estimated  value  of  surplus  land, 
the  remaining  35.7  per  cent  representing  what  the  people  of  Lon- 
don are  paying  for  this  improvement.  That  it  was  greatly 
needed  is  beyond  question,  and  that  it  is  worth  the  price  cannot 
be  doubted;  but  references  to  it  as  an  enterprise  which  produced 
a  direct  financial  return  have  been  very  misleading. 

In  but  a  single  instance  does  the  London  County  Council 
appear  to  have  made  an  actual  financial  profit  from  an  enter- 
prise involving  the  taking  of  land,  and  that  was  in  the  case  of 
Northumberland  avenue,  which  was  cut  through  from  Trafalgar 
square  to  the  Thames  embankment.     Northumberland  House 


386  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

and  its  extensive  grounds  were  taken  in  this  improvement, 
but  there  were  no  valuable  trade  interests  to  be  acquired  and 
paid  for,  while  the  surplus  property  abutting  on  the  new  street 
was  so  advantageously  located  that  there  was  an  immediate 
demand  for  it  and  it  was  sold  at  such  generous  prices  that  the 
receipts  from  the  sales  exceeded  by  nearly  120,000  pounds  ster- 
ling the  entire  cost  of  the  acquisition  and  improvement  of  the 
street,  including  the  building  of  pipe  subways,  so  that  there  was 
an  actual  profit  of  17  per  cent  from  the  undertaking.  This 
affords  an  illustration  of  an  imearned  increment  which  the  city 
took  for  itself.  The  great  increase  in  value  certainly  was  not 
due  to  any  act  of  the  former  owners  of  the  property,  but  to  an 
important  improvement,  initiated  and  carried  out  by  the  munic- 
ipal authorities,  the  benefit  from  which  was  very  promptly 
reflected  in  a  great  increase  in  the  land  values.  That  in  many 
of  the  improvements  carried  out  by  the  London  County  Council 
in  which  the  right  of  excess  condemnation  was  exercised  the 
recoupment  from  the  sale  of  the  surplus  property  was  a  rela- 
tively small  percentage  of  the  cost,  was  due  in  large  degree 
to  the  fact  that  the  land  required  was  formerly  devoted,  not 
to  ducal  palaces,  but  to  tenements,  and  that  the  "  Housing  of 
the  Working  Classes  Act  "  required  the  authorities  to  provide 
homes  for  the  working  people  who  might  be  dispossessed,  the 
expense  of  doing  so  being  a  part  of  the  cost  of  the  improvement. 

Many  of  the  German  cities  have  bought  large  quantities  of 
land,  in  many  cases,  no  doubt,  in  connection  with  the  carry- 
ing out  of  specific  street  improvements,  but  their  purchases  have 
been  so  extensive  and  their  main  purpose  has  been  so  different 
that  it  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  on  Municipal  Land 
Policies. 

The  manner  in  which  irregular  parcels  are  taken  over, 
replotted  and  reassigned  is,  however,  so  intimately  connected 
with  city  planning,  more  especially  in  its  financial  aspects,  that 
it  will  be  briefly  described  in  this  connection.  The  plan  is 
said  to  have  been  devised  by  Dr.  Adickes  of  Frankfort,  and  the 
law  governing  it  is  known  as  the  "  Lex  Adickes."     Under  its 


Financing  a  City  Plan  387 

provisions,  where  existing  property  lines  are  so  inconsistent  with 
those  of  a  rational  street  plan  that  the  parcels  left  after  laying 
out  a  street  system  cannot  be  profitably  used,  the  city  may, 
if  one  half  of  the  owners,  who  also  own  not  less  than  half  of  the 
land  in  sjch  a  tract,  give  their  consent,  take  over  the  entire 
tract,  lay  out  a  proper  street  system  with  such  open  spaces 
as  may  be  thought  necessary,  taking  out  for  streets  and  open 
spaces  as  much  as  40  per  cent  of  the  entire  area,  and  redistrib- 
uting the  remaining  land  among  the  owners  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  give  usable  plots  of  an  area  corresponding  with  their  original 
holdings  less  their  proportion  of  the  space  taken  for  pubUc 
use,  for  which  no  payment  is  made.  The  success  of  such  a 
policy  will,  of  course,  be  dependent  upon  the  equity  of  the 
redistribution.  While  this  must  be  done  somewhat  arbitrarily 
it  is  probably  done  fairly.  In  most  cases  the  owner  of  each 
parcel  taken  will  naturally  hope  to  obtain  an  advantageous 
location  in  the  reallotment.  Some  of  them  must  be  disappointed ; 
but  that  the  plan  has  been  successfully  followed  in  German 
cities  is  evidence  that  substantial  justice  is  done,  while  the 
great  advantage  to  the  city  at  large  in  securing  a  better  street 
plan  and  increasing  the  value  of  the  remaining  property  is  quite 
obvious. 

An  instance  of  an  attempt  to  make  reallotments  somewhat 
in  this  manner  is  noted  by  Mr.  C.  M.  Burton  in  his  pamphlet  on 
"  The  Building  of  Detroit."  After  a  fire  which  nearly  destroyed 
this  town  in  1805,  an  act  of  Congress  authorized  the  laying  out 
of  a  new  town  to  include  the  site  of  the  old  one  and  10,000  acres 
adjacent.  "  As  all  the  lot  owners  in  the  former  village,"  says 
Mr.  Burton,  "  claimed  an  ownership  in  certain  parts  of  the  town, 
and  as  it  was  impossible  to  give  them  their  original  holdings 
imless  the  old  town  with  its  narrow  streets  and  small  lots  was 
retained,  the  citizens  concluded  to  lay  out  a  new  town  and 
give  lands  free  to  the  old  lot  owners  in  exchange  for  their  former 
possessions.  The  judges  were  to  adjust  claims  for  these  lots. 
Every  person  over  17  years  of  age  who  was  in  Detroit  at  the 
time  of  the  fire  was  to  have  a  lot  in  the  new  town  containing 


388  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

5000  sq.  ft.  The  lands  which  remained  were  to  be  sold  and 
the  proceeds  used  for  building  a  court-house  and  jail."  In 
response  to  an  inquiry  as  to  whether  this  plan  was  ever  carried 
out,  Mr.  Burton  says  that  while  proceedings  for  the  distribution 
were  commenced  soon  after  the  act  was  passed,  and  attempts 
have  frequently  been  made  since  to  have  the  Common  Council 
perform  the  duties  imposed  upon  the  "  Governor  and  Judges  " 
acting  as  a  land  board  under  the  act  of  1806,  nothing  has  been 
accomplished. 


CHAPTER  XX 
MUNICIPAL  LAND   POLICIES 

WHILE  some  cities  may  have  adopted  certain  policies  with 
respect  to  the  control  and  ownership  of  land  within  the 
city  limits  and  outside  of  its  boundaries  for  the  express  purpose 
of  providing  funds  for  carrying  out  city  planning  projects  or 
for  other  municipal  activities,  the  land  policies  now  to  be  con- 
sidered are  those  which  have  for  their  chief  purpose  the  control 
of  the  price  of  land,  the  prevention  of  land  speculation  and,  as 
a  result  of  such  control,  the  reduction  of  rents.  In  other  words, 
the  purpose  is  chiefly  social,  or  it  relates  to  the  social  aspects  of 
city  planning.  The  cities  of  Continental  Europe,  especially 
those  of  Germany,  have  gone  so  much  further  in  the  control  of 
land  prices  through  restrictive  regulation  and  investment  in 
land  by  the  cities  themselves  that  instances  of  results  accom- 
plished through  the  adoption  of  such  policies  must  be  drawn 
chiefly  from  the  cities  of  those  countries,  although  note  will  be 
made  of  the  active  propaganda  looking  to  the  adoption  of  these 
policies  and  of  the  arguments  advanced  in  their  favor  in  the 
English-speaking  countries. 

In  the  United  States,  and  to  a  less  extent  in  Great  Britain, 
there  is  a  strong  feeling  that  the  city  should  not  be  an  owner 
of  real  estate  other  than  that  needed  for  pubUc  purposes  and 
that  investment  in  land  with  a  view  to  a  profit  from  its  resale 
or  to  controlling  land  prices  is  not  a  public  purpose.  In  Ger- 
many, on  the  other  hand,  such  investments  are  believed  to  be 
a  perfectly  legitimate  municipal  function.  At  least  they  are 
held  to  be  legitimate  and  wise  by  the  municipal  authorities;  but 
even  in  Germany,  where  there  seems  to  be  a  disposition  to  sub- 
mit to  regulations  and  policies  imposed  upon  the  people  by 

389 


390  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

municipal  officers  who  have  so  firmly  established  their  reputa- 
tions for  honest  and  efficient  administration  in  all  other  govern- 
mental details,  there  are  protests  against  the  severity  of  some  of 
the  regulations  affecting  the  use  of  land,  and  attempts  of  the 
state  and  municipal  authorities  to  control  or  keep  down  real- 
estate  values.  There  is  a  "  Protective  League  of  Land  and 
Home  Owners  "  with  headquarters  in  Berlin  and  branches  or 
affiliated  organizations  in  other  cities  which  opposes  some  of 
these  pohcies  or  what  are  considered  extreme,  arbitrary  and 
unwarranted  applications  of  some  which  are  beheved  to  be  fair 
and  wise  if  reasonably  and  conservatively  enforced. 

Mr.  Frederic  C.  Howe,  in  his  book  on  "  European  Cities 
at  Work,"  outUnes  an  official  statement  of  the  city  of  Diissel- 
dorf  in  support  of  its  land  pohcies.  It  is  argued  that  experience 
has  frequently  shown  that  a  tract  of  land  needed  for  some  pubUc 
purpose  is  often  much  dearer  at  the  time  it  is  acquired  than  it 
was  when  the  need  of  its  ultimate  acquisition  for  such  purpose 
was  first  apparent.  The  city  should  not,  however,  Hmit  its 
acquisition  of  land  to  its  own  immediate  needs.  It  is  entirely 
reasonable  and  proper  that  the  city  should  participate  in  the 
rise  in  the  prices  of  land  brought  about  through  the  estabUsh- 
ment  of  some  municipal  institution  or  the  carrying  out  of  some 
improvement  that  results  in  an  increase  of  the  value  of  land  in 
its  vicinity.  The  city  should  especially  become  the  owner 
of  land  in  the  suburban  sections  and  thus  influence  their  develop- 
ment, the  mode  of  building  and  the  creation  of  larger  open 
spaces,  and  should  promote  also  the  opening  up  of  land  for 
building  purposes  and  thus  keep  down  the  prices  of  land  within 
reasonable  limits.  The  increase  in  the  value  of  municipal 
lands  is,  according  to  the  experience  of  Diisseldorf,  on  an 
average  for  a  long  term  of  years,  not  less  than  4  per  cent,  annu- 
ally. Even  though  stagnation  in  the  rise  of  prices  does  set  in 
at  times  it  is  claimed  that  4  per  cent  interest  will  be  realized 
and  that  they  may  even  figure  upon  4  per  cent  with  com- 
pound interest.  While  an  investment  at  4  per  cent  doubles 
itself  in  17  years,  Diisseldorf  has  found  that  ground  values 


Municipal  Land  Policies  391 

treble  and  quadruple  during  the  same  period,  and  in  some  cases 
increase  even  more  rapidly. 

Mr.  A.  Augustin  Rey  urges  that,  in  order  to  secure  good  living 
conditions,  cities  should  reserve  large  open  spaces  and  keep 
down  the  price  of  land,  and  to  attain  this  end  the  municipal 
authorities  must  "  jealously  keep  all  the  sites  in  their  possession 
and  never  sell  any  of  them.  Those  which  have  cost  little  and 
are  not  intended  for  laying  out  as  parks  and  public  gardens 
should  be  let  on  long  leases  and  at  low  rents  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  erection  of  dwellings  surrounded  by  open  spaces  in  which 
the  great  working  class  may  live  at  moderate  rents.  They 
should  seize  every  opportunity  which  arises  to  increase  their 
property  by  purchasing,  according  to  circumstances  and  at  a 
moderate  price,  large  areas  of  land.  Municipal  authorities 
should  not,  however,  unless  in  very  exceptional  cases,  them- 
selves erect  dwelling  houses."  ^  He  refers  to  the  striking 
example  set  by  the  city  of  Ulm,  where  the  purchase  of  extensive 
areas  by  the  city  has  enabled  it  to  prevent  a  rise  in  the  price 
of  land,  while  the  dwellings  have  few  stories  and  are  surrounded 
by  wide  open  spaces  and,  as  a  result,  the  healthfulness  of  the 
city  is  notable. 

Diisseldorf,  as  a  result  of  its  policy,  is  the  owner  of  land 
equal  in  area  to  17  per  cent  that  of  the  entire  city  in  addition 
to  its  liberal  park  reservations  and  the  space  occupied  by  its 
streets.  While  some  of  this  land  has  doubtless  been  acquired 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  projected  improvements,  a  large 
part  of  it  is  held  as  an  investment  and  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling development  and  discouraging  speculation.  Berhn 
is  a  large  investor  in  land,  its  holdings  being  about  three  times 
the  area  of  the  city,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  which  is  ob- 
\'iously  outside  the  city  limits.  Strassburg  is  a  large  land- 
owner, its  holdings  being  said  to  amount  to  several  times  the 
area  of  the  city,  while  Frankfort  owns  an  area  nearly  one-half, 
Hamburg  one- third,  Cologne  18  per  cent  and  Hanover  11  per 
cent  of  the  areas  within  the  Hmits  of  the  respective  cities.     Mr. 

^  Proceedings  of  London  Town  Planning  Conference,  19 lo,  p.  274, 


392  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Frank  Koester  states  that  the  city  of  Uhn  actually  owns  80 
per  cent  of  the  land  in  the  city  and  its  immediate  suburbs.  He 
says  that  the  city's  real  estate  speculation  began  when  the  old 
fortifications  were  sold  to  the  municipality  and  the  area  formerly 
occupied  by  them  was  used  in  developing  a  comprehensive 
city  planning  and  housing  scheme.  This  resulted  in  a  prompt 
advance  in  the  land  values  outside  the  zone  of  the  improvement 
and,  while  the  city  had  already  been  buying  land,  it  extended 
its  operations  and  secured  large  additional  areas  in  order  that 
the  city  itself  should  profit  by  the  results  of  its  own  under- 
taking rather  than  allow  the  former  owners  to  be  enriched 
through  no  act  of  their  own.  It  is  said  that  in  1909  the  mu- 
nicipality, then  a  city  of  but  56,000  population,  had  acquired 
more  than  1200  acres  representing  an  investment  of  about 
$1,400,000,  while  some  400  acres  had  been  sold  for  about 
$1,625,000,  the  city  still  having  about  800  acres  besides  a  cash 
profit  of  $225,000.  Meanwhile  other  land  in  large  amounts 
had  been  purchased  in  the  old  parts  of  the  town.  Not  only  is 
Ulm  a  large  land-owner,  but  it  improves  its  holdings  by  build- 
ing and  selling  on  the  most  liberal  terms,  ten  per  cent  cash  and 
the  balance  at  very  low  rates  of  interest,  and  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  city  may  take  back  the  property  at  the  original 
purchase  price  in  case  the  owner  is  unable  to  pay  the  interest. 
With  this  control  of  the  nature  of  the  development  there  is 
perhaps  a  better  guaranty  of  permanence  of  the  character  of  a 
neighborhood  than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  city. 

Mr.  Frank  B.  Williams,  in  a  report  made  to  the  Heights  of 
Buildings  Commission  of  New  York  City,  gives  some  interesting 
information  concerning  the  results  of  the  regulations  and  land 
policies  of  the  German  cities,  which  were  obtained  by  him  in 
the  course  of  an  investigation  made  for  the  Commission.  In 
Frankfort  he  found  that  regulation  did  not  keep  land  prices 
down.  Many  of  the  streets  are  claimed  to  be  wider  than 
necessary  and  the  abutting  property  had  to  pay  for  them;  the 
city  is  said  to  have  bought  land  too  extensively,  thus  lessening 
the  supply,  the  city  owning  a  third  of  the  possible  building 


Municipal  Land  Policies  393 

land  within  its  limits  and  a  few  large  financial  institutions 
and  wealthy  persons  another  third,  while  it  is  also  alleged  that 
the  city  paid  too  high  prices  for  what  it  bought.  Owing  to  the 
high  land  values  and  the  restrictions  upon  its  use,  building  had 
practically  ceased  in  1910.  In  the  central  part  of  the  town, 
where  the  restrictions  were  less  rigid,  the  land  was  all  built 
upon,  and  in  the  outer  districts,  where  limitation  of  height 
and  area  which  might  be  occupied  were  more  severe,  rentable 
space  was  so  reduced  that  buildings  were  not  profitable  at 
rents  the  tenants  were  able  to  pay.  To  meet  this  situation  the 
restrictions  in  the  outer  zone  were  somewhat  lessened  in  19 10, 
but  financial  conditions  were  such  that  there  was  little,  if  any, 
resumption  of  building. 

One  of  the  objects  which  the  German  cities  seek  to  attain 
by  their  land  policies  is  the  prevention  of  "  wild  building  " 
or  the  scattered  improvements  which  make  the  approaches  to 
the  average  American  city  so  ragged  and  irregular.  German 
cities  extend  from  the  center  outward  in  solid  blocks,  each 
block  being  almost  entirely  built  up  before  building  is  commenced 
upon  the  next  block  beyond.  One  of  the  purposes  of  this 
policy  is  to  keep  down  the  cost  of  construction,  repairs,  cleaning, 
lighting  and  policing.  In  many  cities  this  is  effectively  accom- 
plished by  prohibiting  the  erection  of  any  building  until  the  street 
upon  which  it  abuts  has  been  completely  paved,  while  no  street 
may  be  paved  unless  the  roadway  and  sidewalk  pavement 
connect  with  a  street  already  completely  improved.  It  follows 
that  no  individual  can  erect  a  single  building  on  an  unimproved 
street  unless  he  shall  first  pave  or  pay  for  the  pavement  of  the 
entire  block,  and  then  only  if  the  block  connects  with  a  street 
already  paved;  that  is,  he  must,  if  he  wishes  to  build  in  advance 
of  his  neighboring  land-owners,  pay  for  the  pavement  in  front 
of  their  property  as  well  as  for  that  in  front  of  his  own.  The 
city  secures  his  investment  in  the  improvement  to  the  extent 
that  it  will  collect  and  pay  to  him  the  share  of  the  pavement 
chargeable  to  any  other  owner  when  he  in  turn  wishes  to  build, 
and  will  not  issue  a  permit  until  such  share  shall  have  been  paid. 


394  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

The  result  is  that  little,  if  any,  individual  building  is  possible, 
but  practically  all  of  the  land  is  held  and  all  the  building  is 
done,  by  corporations  of  sufficient  financial  resources  to  permit 
them  to  carry  out  such  undertakings  on  a  large  scale.  If  the 
purpose  is  to  reduce  the  amount  of  "  building  ripe  "  land  to  a 
minimum,  such  a  policy  will  surely  accomplish  it. 

In  order  to  prevent  speculative  increases  in  land  values 
the  municipal  authorities  sometimes  resort  to  methods  which 
in  America  or  Great  Britain  would  be  considered  arbitrary  in 
the  extreme,  such  as  a  change  in  the  restrictive  ordinances. 
Mr.  Williams  cites  an  interesting  case,  where,  in  September,  191 2, 
an  ordinance  adopted  two  and  a  half  years  before  with  respect 
to  a  part  of  Charlottenburg,  was  radically  changed.  The 
original  regulations  permitted  the  type  of  improvement  prevail- 
ing in  certain  parts  of  Berlin,  allowing  five  stories  in  height  and 
the  occupation  of  about  75  per  cent  of  the  lot.  The  amended 
regulations  restricted  the  buildings  which  might  be  erected  for  a 
limited  portion  of  the  area  to  those  of  Class  A,  where  the  limit  was 
four  stories,  with  one-half  of  the  lot  covered,  but  for  the  greater 
part  to  Classes  C  and  D,  which  allow,  respectively,  buildings 
of  three  stories  using  three-tenths  of  the  lot,  and  two  stories 
covering  the  same  proportion  of  the  lot.  The  tract  was  unde- 
veloped. There  were  streets  about  it,  but  none  within  its  limits 
and  it  contained  no  buildings  except  an  old  castle.  The  jus- 
tification which  was  claimed  for  this  arbitrary  action  was  that 
the  prices  that  had  developed  were  purely  speculative,  and  a 
statement  attributed  to  a  public  official  was:  "  they  must  take 
their  chances  as  to  the  ordinance  they  will  get  and  they  knew 
it  when  they  bought.  We  cannot  make  our  rules  to  fit  their 
prices;  let  them  fit  their  prices  to  our  rules."  To  the  owner 
of  property  in  an  American  city  this  would  seem  a  very  brutal 
policy.  It  is  followed  in  Germany,  and  it  has  accompHshed  the 
results  which  are  believed  by  some  to  be  so  desirable. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  simplest  and  most  effective  ways  to 
prevent  speculative  increases  in  land  values  is  the  exaction  of 
the  unearned  increment  tax.     The  right  of  the  city  to  a  part 


Municipal  Land  Policies  395 

of  the  increase  in  the  value  of  real  estate  caused  by  a  specific 
improvement  has  already  been  referred  to  as  a  justification 
for  the  adoption  of  the  poUcy  of  excess  condemnation  in  order 
to  meet  a  part  of  the  cost  of  such  improvements.  The  unearned 
increment  tax  as  imposed  by  the  German  cities  is,  however,  a 
revenue  producing  device  and  may  be  considered  as  a  mum'cipal 
land  policy.  Mr,  Howe  says  that  the  first  instance  of  the 
imposition  of  such  a  tax  was  in  1898,  when  Germany  acquired 
from  China  the  port  of  Kiau  Chau,  and  provided  that  the 
purchasers  of  land  should  pay  into  the  city  treasury  a  tax 
amounting  to  33  per  cent  of  the  increased  value  which  came  to 
the  land  by  virtue  of  the  growth  of  the  community.  This  was 
so  successful,  that  in  1904,  Frankfort  adopted  the  poHcy,  and 
it  was  rapidly  taken  up  by  other  German  cities.  In  Frankfort 
a  transfer  tax  of  two  per  cent  on  the  selling  price  of  the  property 
is  paid  whenever  it  changes  hands,  irrespective  of  whether  it 
has  increased  in  value  or  not.  The  unearned  increment  tax 
proper  is  imposed  both  upon  the  increase  in  the  value  of  the  land 
which  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  same  owner,  amounting  to 
from  one  to  six  per  cent  of  the  increase  in  value,  and  upon  the 
speculative  profit  reahzed  from  its  sale,  this  last  being  much 
higher  and  ranging  from  two  to  25  per  cent,  according  to  the 
amount  of  profit  and  the  period  within  which  it  is  reahzed. 
Within  three  years  after  this  poHcy  was  adopted  by  Frankfort 
it  was  introduced  by  eleven  other  cities,  and  so  rapidly  did  the 
idea  spread  that  by  19 10  it  is  said  that  457  German  cities  and 
towns  had  followed  Frankfort's  example.  Of  the  cities  and 
towns  of  Prussia  which  had  adopted  the  plan,  27  were  of  over 
100,000  population,  72  of  from  20,000  to  100,000,  and  64  of 
from  5000  to  20,000. 

In  most  American  cities  nearly  all  of  the  taxes  are  imposed 
upon  real  estate.  An  attempt  is  usually  made  to  tax  personal 
property,  but  the  difiiculty  of  locating  such  property  makes 
the  attempt  almost  a  farce,  and  abandonment  of  the  effort  is 
frequently  urged.  Real  property  in  many  cities  is  assessed  for 
taxation  at  its  full  market  value,  and  as  these  assessments  are 


396  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

constantly  increasing  with  the  land  values  the  unearned  incre- 
ment actually  is  taxed,  though  not  to  the  degree  which  prevails 
in  Germany.  In  Great  Britain,  on  the  other  hand,  land  is 
taxed  on  the  basis  of  the  returns  received  from  it.  Large  tracts 
of  unimproved  land,  even  in  London  and  other  large  cities,  thus 
almost  entirely  escape  taxation  during  the  period  in  which  they 
are  becoming  more  and  more  valuable  owing  to  the  development 
of  the  property  about  them.  The  injustice  of  this  system  is  so 
obvious  that  insistent  demands  are  now  being  made  for  the 
reform  of  the  British  tax  laws. 

Efforts  to  induce  the  provision  of  houses  at  low  rents 
have  frequently  taken  the  form  of  agitation  for  the  decrease 
or  even  the  abolition  of  taxes  on  buildings,  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  compelling  the  improvement  of  vacant  land,  thereby 
insuring  a  surplus  rather  than  a  shortage  of  dwelUngs  with  a 
reduction  in  rentals  which  would  naturally  follow.  To  the 
advocate  of  the  single-tax  theory  this  seems  the  only  sure 
remedy  for  many  of  the  ills  suffered  by  city  dwellers.  It 
appears,  however,  to  be  the  first  step  towards  the  complete 
municipalization  of  the  land  within  the  city,  which  would 
certainly  put  an  effective  stop  to  land  speculation  by  individuals, 
and  yet  the  German  cities  frankly  maintain  that  such  land 
speculation  is  an  entirely  proper  as  well  as  profitable  activity 
for  the  city  itself.  The  advocates  of  this  poHcy  maintain  that 
the  halving  or  entire  removal  of  the  tax  on  buildings  will 
stimulate  better  building  and  better  architecture.  If  this  be 
the  case  it  would  doubtless  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  better 
built  and  more  attractive  dwellings  and  office  buildings  would 
secure  tenants,  rather  than  to  the  fact  that  the  owner  of  the 
land  wishes  to  provide  for  tenant  or  buyer  the  best  that  he  pos- 
sibly can.  The  reduction  of,  or  even  exemption  from,  taxation 
for  a  hmited  period  for  buildings  reaching  a  definite  standard 
of  construction  and  architecture  would  probably  accomplish 
this  same  purpose,  and  good  building  might  become  a  habit. 
The  late  John  M.  Carrere,  of  New  York  City,  urged  a  few  years 
ago  that,  in  order  to  encourage  a  better  type  of  architecture  in 


Municipal  Land  Policies  397 

apartment  houses,  one  house  of  this  kind,  which  might  be 
declared  by  a  competent  jury  of  architects  to  be  the  best  of  its 
type  erected  within  the  year,  should  have  attached  to  it  a  tablet 
with  a  statement  to  this  effect;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  he 
suggested  that  the  taxes  on  such  a  building  be  remitted  for  a 
period  of  from  one  to  five  years.  Those  who  urge  the  adoption 
of  the  single-tax  plan,  the  arguments  in  favor  of  which  were 
so  forcibly  presented  by  the  late  Henry  George,  insist  that 
land,  being  something  which  has  not  been  created  by  personal 
effort  or  industry,  is  not  a  thing  which  can  properly  be  held  in 
private  possession,  and  that  the  person  who  does  happen  to  own 
it  should,  while  having  the  use  of  it,  contribute  some  of  his  profit 
to  the  people  whose  presence  on  and  about  it  has  actually 
created  its  value,  or  the  increase  in  value  which  it  has  acquired 
through  no  act  of  the  owner. 

Reference  is  frequently  made  to  the  extraordinary  in- 
creases which  have  taken  place  in  the  value  of  real  estate 
in  New  York  City,  and  yet  it  is  admitted  that  if  the  price  paid 
to  the  Indians  in  1626  for  the  whole  of  Manhattan  Island, 
which  was  $24.60,  had  been  put  at  compound  interest  during 
the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  its  purchase  it  would  by  now 
have  amounted  to  a  sum  not  less  than  the  entire  assessed  value 
of  that  land  at  the  present  time.  Had  the  people  not  come 
to  this  island  in  great  numbers  the  land  would  be  worth  no 
more  to-day  than  it  was  in  1626.  Many  owners  of  city  property 
do  not  reaHze  as  great  a  return  upon  their  original  investments 
as  they  would  had  the  money  been  left  in  a  savings  bank.  It 
is  only  through  improvements  placed  upon  it  that  any  return 
at  all  has  been  realized;  that  is,  the  land  itself  has  simply 
afforded  a  site  for  a  business  enterprise,  the  success  of  which 
has  given  that  land  and  other  land  in  the  vicinity  an  apparently 
greater  value.  It  is  this  apparent  increase  in  land  value  that 
the  single-taxers  would  extinguish  by  taxation  without  penaliz- 
ing the  owner  by  imposing  upon  him  a  further  tax  for  his  enter- 
prise in  erecting  useful  buildings  upon  the  land,  or  his  public 
spirit  in  making  such  buildings  so  attractive  that  they  will  add 


398  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

to  the  beauty  of  the  city.  It  is  urged  also  that  when  insanitary 
tenements  and  unsightly  structures  are  maintained  upon  the 
land  the  city  should  have  the  same  right  to  insist  upon  their 
removal  without  compensation  that  it  now  has  to  condemn  and 
remove  a  building  which  is  structurally  weak  and  unsafe,  or  to 
take  away  and  destroy  rotten  meat,  spoiled  fish,  impure  milk  or 
disease-infected  clothing.  There  are  many  individual  cases 
in  which  apparent  increases  in  the  prices  of  land  have  brought 
fortunes  to  those  who  were  lucky  enough  to  acquire  it  at  the 
right  time.  The  Single  Tax  Review  for  November-December, 
19 13,  gives  a  number  of  such  instances,  showing  how  slowly  the 
land  values  of  Manhattan  Island  advanced  when  the  popula- 
tion was  small  and  how  they  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds  as 
the  number  of  inhabitants  began  to  grow  rapidly.  It  is  said 
that  the  first  private  sale  of  land  recorded  was  in  1643,  the 
year  in  which  lower  Broadway  was  laid  out,  when  a  lot  on  Bridge 
street  between  Whitehall  and  Broad  streets  was  sold  for  a  little 
over  $9.  Broadway  was  then  the  fashionable  residence  street, 
and  a  lot  below  Wall  street  was  sold  in  1726  to  a  blacksmith 
for  $250.  By  1770  lots  in  this  neighborhood  had  increased  in 
value  to  nearly  $2000.  In  1790,  a  lot  at  Broadway  and  Battery 
place  with  what  was  then  considered  a  fine  house  was  worth 
$10,000;  another,  fronting  on  Bowling  Green,  the  home  of  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  citizens,  had  the  same  value;  another 
a  few  doors  above  was  worth  $7000.  The  residence  of  Mayor 
Varick  at  the  corner  of  Pine  street  was  worth  $15,000,  while 
a  little  below  Wall  street  stood  the  most  palatial  residence  of 
its  day,  which  was  valued,  both  land  and  improvements,  at 
$17,000.  In  1794  the  land  on  which  the  World  Building  now 
stands  was  sold  for  $1800;  the  land  alone  is  now  assessed 
for  purposes  of  taxation  at  $1,500,000.  Broadway  then  ended 
at  Chambers  street,  where  the  Lispenard  farm  began.  Just 
after  it  was  extended  through  this  farm  a  small  lot  near  the 
corner  of  Duane  street  was  bought  for  $250  and  10  years  later 
was  sold  for  $1975.  In  1818  this  same  lot  was  mortgaged  for 
$7000  and  was   sold  on  foreclosure  for  $8600,  again   changed 


Municipal  Land  Policies  399 

hands  in  1825  for  $9000,  while  its  last  transfer,  which  took  place 
in  1898,  was  for  a  consideration  of  $200,000,  representing  an 
increase  of  2100  per  cent  in  73  years. 

The  slow  growth  of  land  values  during  the  century  following 
the  transfer  from  Dutch  to  English  rule  is  explained  by  the  small 
increase  in  population.  When  that  change  took  place  in  1674, 
there  were  only  about  3000  persons  in  the  town ;  there  was  an 
increase  of  but  400  in  the  next  three  years  and  about  1000  in 
the  following  25  years,  and  in  1771  it  had  become  a  city  of  only 
21,683.  From  then  on  its  growth  was  steady  and  rapid.  In 
the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  population  doubled, 
going  from  30,000  to  60,000,  while  in  the  first  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century  it  rose  to  95,000.  In  1845  the  city  had 
371,223  inhabitants,  which  number  was  increased  to  515,394  in 
1850,  a  growth  of  nearly  40  per  cent  in  five  years.  This  increase 
in  population  was  accompanied  by  an  extraordinary  increase 
in  land  values.  In  1820  one  thousand  building  lots  between 
Fourth  and  Seventh  avenues  were  sold  for  $4000  or  at  the 
rate  of  $4  a  lot,  while  in  1852  they  were  sold  for  $780  a 
lot.  A  single  lot  on  Fifth  avenue  in  this  same  district,  having 
an  area  of  2210  sq.  ft.,  was  sold  in  1908  for  $250,000,  or  $113.12 
a  sq.  ft.,  while  a  corner  plot  at  Fifth  avenue  and  Fifty-sixth 
street,  50  by  100  ft.  in  size,  brought  $725,000  or  $145  a  sq.  ft. 
The  old  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  property  fronting  on  Broadway 
and  Fifth  avenue  between  Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth 
streets  was  sold  a  few  years  ago  for  $7,250,000,  while  60  years 
before  it  was  valued  at  $2000.  The  increases  in  the  values  of 
down-town  property  during  this  period  were  still  more  striking. 
A  lot  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Dey  street,  which  in  1745 
was  sold  for  less  than  $200,  brought  $1,000,000  in  1906.  The 
land  on  which  the  Equitable  Building  now  stands,  which  is 
valued  at  about  $12 ,000,000,  was  sold  in  1 72 1  for  a  little  less  than 
$300.  There  has  been  one  sale  in  the  Wall  street  district  at 
the  rate  of  $558.65  and  one  at  the  rate  of  $655  a  sq.  ft. 

Some  of  the  investments  in  land  on  Manhattan  Island  which 
are  now  seen  to  have  been  very  profitable  were  not  considered 


400  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

evidence  of  particular  shrewdness  by  the  investors'  neighbors 
at  the  time.  As  late  as  1826,  when  John  Jacob  Astor  bought 
the  Thompson  farm  lying  on  both  sides  of  Fifth  avenue  from 
Thirty-second  to  Thirty-fifth  streets  for  $25,000,  it  was  thought 
by  some  to  be  a  foolish  investment,  as  the  land  was  not  .even 
considered  good  pasture.  In  1908  a  single  lot  in  this  tract  was 
sold  for  $400,000,  and  the  land  on  which  stands  the  Waldorf- 
Astoria  Hotel  has  an  assessed  value,  exclusive  of  the  building, 
of  $9,260,000.  When  Captain  Randall  made  his  will  in  1801, 
and  left  a  farm  of  21  acres  at  Broadway  and  Astor  place,  the 
income  of  which  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  a  home 
for  old  sailors,  no  one  imagined  that  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor 
would,  before  the  end  of  that  century,  receive  an  income  of 
more  than  $300,000  a  year  from  ground  leases  for  the  land 
comprised  in  that  farm.  The  old  Stewart  store,  now  a  part 
of  the  Wanamaker  establishment,  is  on  a  portion  of  the  tract, 
and  its  assessed  value  for  land  alone  is  $1,765,000. 

The  statement  in  the  article  in  the  Single  Tax  Review,  from 
which  most  of  the  preceding  data  have  been  taken,  that  the 
land  has  value  only  because  of  the  presence  of  people  on  it,  is 
obviously  true.  The  buildings  which  may  be  erected  on  it  are 
mere  incidents  and  they  soon  give  place  to  others  more  capable 
of  earning  an  income  which  will  pay  the  interest  on  the  land 
investment.  After  commenting  upon  the  fact  that  few  of  the 
old  buildings  remain,  the  article  closes  with  the  following: 

But  the  island  remains,  the  earth  and  rocks,  the  geologic  formation, 
plus  population:  and  the  revenues  of  the  great  land-owners  remain  as  long 
as  these  remain.  Houses,  mercantile  palaces,  and  stately  office  buildings 
come  and  go;  but  a  little  earth  and  rock  and  sand  fronting  the  harbor 
remain  as  a  very  permanent  investment,  which  increases  constantly  in 
value  as  the  human  tide  flows  in. 

Many  instances  of  rapid  increases  in  land  values  in  other 
American  cities  might  be  given,  some  of  them  even  more  extraor- 
dinary during  "  boom  "  periods,  and  in  many  cases  there  has 
been  a  recession  in  values.  While  the  values  in  New  York 
are  greater  than  in  any  of  the  others,  the  advance  has  been  steady 


Municipal  Land  Policies  401 

and  has  been  maintained.  They  are  greatest  on  Manhattan 
Island  owing  to  the  limited  amount  of  land  and  the  shape  of 
the  island,  the  greatest  values  being  at  the  southerly  end, 
where  the  financial  and  office  districts  and  the  administrative 
center  of  the  city  are  located.  But  the  values  in  the  other 
four  boroughs  are  also  increasing  and  will  continue  to  increase 
in  the  aggregate,  but  they  will  be  better  distributed  as  the  great 
rapid-transit  system  now  being  constructed  is  available  for  use, 
and  there  is  likely  to  be  a  recession  of  values  in  some  districts. 
The  steady  growth  in  the  assessed  values  of  real  estate  in  the 
five  boroughs  and  the  greater  city  during  the  14  years  from  1899 
to  19 13  is  shown  in  Table  XII,  which  has  been  compiled  from  the 
reports  of  the  Department  of  Taxes. 

The  values  given  in  the  table  include  both  land  and  buildings, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  while  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the 
total  values  every  year  it  has  been  slight  in  some  years  and  very 
marked  in  others.  In  1903  there  was  an  increase  of  43  per  cent 
over  the  values  of  1902,  which  was  due  to  a  consistent  effort 
to  assess  all  property  at  its  full  value  as  required  by  law,  coupled 
with  a  desire  to  increase  the  borrowing  capacity  of  the  city  in 
order  to  carry  out  some  extensive  improvements,  the  bonded 
debt  of  the  city  for  enterprises  which  are  not  self-sustaining 
being  limited  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  real 
estate.  The  land  values  of  New  York  have  been  discussed  at 
some  length,  not  because  they  illustrate  the  working  of  a  munic- 
ipal land  policy,  but  as  affording  an  excellent  example  of  the 
results  of  a  lack  of  such  a  policy.  Are  the  increases  which  have 
taken  place  unnatural  and  unwholesome?  Are  fortunes  made 
through  far-sighted  investments  in  land  in  a  growing  city 
ill-gotten?  Should  the  state  or  the  city  take  for  itself  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  these  increased  values  and  thus  keep  within 
reasonable  Hmits  the  fortunes  which  may  be  amassed  by  shrewd 
or  lucky  investors  and  their  descendants?  Should  the  city, 
by  judicious  purchases  of  land  in  advance  of  development,  and 
its  improvement  or  re-sale  at  moderate  prices  and  subject  to 
restrictions  which  will  prevent  its  too  intensive  use,  effectually 


402 


The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


TABLE  XII 

Showing  the  Increase  in  the  Assessed  Values  of  Real  Estate  in  the 
Five  Boroughs  of  the  City  of  New  York,  from  1899  to  19 13 


Year. 

Manhattan. 

Brooklyn. 

The  Bronx. 

1800 

$2,054,903,875 
2,231,502,655 
2,285,188,713 
2,358,939,618 
3,483,793,382 
3,676,857,411 
3,820,754,181 
4,105,352,281 

4,391,970,951 
4,584,536,431 
4,614,446,286 
4,743,916,785 
5,037,872,685 

5,035,485,413 
5,126,942,595 

$  609,822,267 

651,408,500 

658,962,119 

670,533,508 

853,760,357 

901,994,957 

940,982,302 

1,072,007,172 

1,181,221,910 

1,334,864,835 

1,354,809,840 

1,404,036,521 

1,689,171,283 

1,674,742,409 
1,680,013,591 

$123,702,030 

IQOO 

138,494,849 

IQOI 

143,808,303 

1002 

153,500,568 

lOO'?  

247,090,767 

1004.  

261,026,477 

IQ05  

274,859,593 

1006 

355,770,602 

1007  

396,687,730 
441,228,718 

1008 

1 000 

462,704,008 

lOIO 

49'?,757,9IQ 

I9II  

605,222,933 
616,521,378 

I9I2   

IQI-Z   

640,340,593 

Year. 

Queens. 

Richmond. 

Entire  City. 

1800 

$103,752,600 
104,427,772 
107,179,620 
108,859,704 
123,781,723 
131,379,225 
140,404,990 
159,446,205 

217,668,775 
296,458,980 
308,112,605 
334,563,960 
446,569,352 
456,750,539 
477,792,836 

$40,264,692 
42,723,924 
42,639,506 
38,814,181 
43,124,597 
44,205,709 

44,581,235 
45,901,985 
52,931,236 
65,326,825 
67,106,965 
67,917,489 
80,003,911 
78,399,151 
81,558,246 

$2,932,445,464 

1000 

3,168,557,700 

1901  

3,242,778,261 

IQ02 

^,^^0,647,570 

IOC? 

4,751,550,826 

IQ04  

5,015,46^,770 

IQ05  

5,221,582,301 

1006 

5,738,487,245 

IQ07  

6,240,480,602 

IQ08 

6,722,415,789 

IQOO  

6,807,179,704 

IQIO 

7,044,192,674 

IQII 

7,858,840,164 

1012 

7,861,898,890 

lOI^ 

8,006,647,861 

Percentage  of  Increase  During  Fourteen  Years 

Per  Cent. 

Manhattan 192 

Brooklyn 176 

The  Bronx 530 

Queens 361 

Richmond 103 

Entire  City 207 


Municipal  Land  Policies  403 

put  a  stop  to  such  great  increases  in  value  and  the  heavy  tax 
upon  business  which  these  values  involve?  The  German  cities 
evidently  believe  that  it  should,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  general 
belief  among  writers  on  city  planning  that  the  German  cities 
are  models  for  the  rest  of  the  world.  Yet  there  is,  as  already 
noted,  a  suspicion  in  many  of  them  that  they  have  gone  too  far 
in  this  direction.  Somewhere  between  the  extremes  represented 
by  New  York  on  the  one  hand  and  the  German  city  on  the  other 
there  is  doubtless  a  happy  mean  which  will  give  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity for  private  enterprise  and  yet  will  insure  to  the  city, 
or  to  all  the  people  of  the  city,  a  share  in  the  values  created  by 
their  presence  and  their  labor. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   OPPORTUNITIES   AND    RESPONSIBILITIES   OF 
THE  MUNICIPAL  ENGINEER 

TN  the  preceding  chapters  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
-*■  indicate  what  a  city  plan  is,  how  it  is  developed,  the  various 
problems  which  must  be  studied  and  the  conditions  which  it  is 
necessary  to  provide  for  or  guard  against.  The  unfortunate 
results  of  mistakes  in  the  original  plan  have  been  pointed  out 
and  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  subsequent  corrections  have 
been  noted.  Who  is  primarily  responsible  for  these  mistakes? 
Perhaps  it  is  unfair  to  call  them  mistakes,  if  the  word  be  taken 
to  mean  blunders  due  to  lack  of  ordinary  foresight  or  to  care- 
lessness. The  recent  growth  of  cities  and  the  changed  conditions 
which  have  made  possible  the  concentration  of  such  num- 
bers as  are  now  found  in  our  large  towns,  could  not  have  been 
foreseen  by  those  who  laid  the  foundations  for  what  are  now 
our  largest  cities;  but  many  new  cities  have  lately  been  estab- 
lished and  small  towns  are  rapidly  developing  into  large  cities. 
According  to  the  United  States  census  of  1910,  34  towns  which 
had  a  population  of  25,000  or  more  in  1900  had  increased 
more  than  50  per  cent  during  the  preceding  decade.  Of  these 
21  had  more  than  50,000  population  in  1900,  and  of  these  21 
eight  showed  increases  of  from  50  per  cent  to  75  per  cent, 
five  from  75  per  cent  to  100  per  cent,  and  eight  of  more  than 
100  per  cent,  one  of  them,  Birmingham,  Alabama,  having  added 
245  per  cent  to  its  population.  Nine  of  the  34  cities  had  from 
50,000  to  100,000  population  in  1900,  and  of  these  five  showed 
increases  of  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  while  the  remaining  four  in- 
creased more  rapidly,  the  increase  in  one  of  them,  Seattle,  being 
173  per  cent.     Even  more  remarkable,  perhaps,  is  the  fact  that 

404 


The  Opportunities  of  the  Municipal  Engineer       405 

four  towns  of  over  100,000  in  1900  increased  more  than  50  per 
cent  in  population  during  the  ten  succeeding  years;  one  of  them, 
52  per  cent;  another,  63  per  cent;  a  third,  70  per  cent,  and  the 
fourth,  Los  Angeles,  showed  the  extraordinary  increase  of 
211  per  cent.  It  will  be  seen  that  since  the  defects  in  the 
plans  of  older  towns  and  their  inadaptability  to  new  conditions 
have  become  apparent  there  have  been  examples  of  extraor- 
dinary and  even  sensational  growth  of  cities,  which  has  em- 
phasized the  need  of  more  far-sighted  planning,  and  the  excuse 
that  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  such  growth,  which  excuse  was 
not  unreasonable  in  the  case  of  some  of  our  older  cities,  can  no 
longer  be  given  much  consideration. 

It  is  significant  that  quite  a  nimiber  of  the  34  cities  in 
the  United  States  which  increased  50  per  cent  or  more  in 
population  during  the  first  decade  of  the  present  century  have 
undertaken  or  are  talking  about  replanning.  This  indicates 
that  even  when  their  rapid  growth  began  they  had  failed  to 
realize  what  was  coming  or  to  take  account  of  changed  and 
changing  conditions.  To  repeat  our  question,  who  is  primarily 
responsible  for  these  mistakes?  It  must  be  admitted  that 
they  are  to  a  great  extent  chargeable  to  the  engineer,  although 
they  are  probably  due  in  many  instances  to  lack  of  power  on 
the  part  of  the  municipal  authorities  to  control  the  plotting 
and  development  by  private  individuals  and  land  companies, 
of  tracts  within  or  contiguous  to  the  city  Hmits  and  which  have 
been  absorbed  by  its  rapid  growth.  The  engineer  will  be  the 
first  man  on  the  ground;  he  will  make  the  first  topographic 
surveys;  his  work  will  influence,  if  it  will  not  control,  the  lines 
of  transportation  and  the  adequacy  of  terminal  facihties;  he 
will  fix  the  lines  and  grades  of  the  streets  which  are  to  become 
the  trafl&c  arteries  of  the  town  and  which  will  make  it  easy  or 
difficult  for  it  to  develop  into  a  great  city;  he  will  decide  upon 
the  general  arrangement  of  the  streets  and  blocks  upon  which 
will  depend  the  possibility  of  effective  architectural  treatment; 
he  will  either  afford  an  opportunity  to  others  to  propose  and 
carry  out  so-called  city  planning  projects  at  great  cost  in  order 


406  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

to  correct  defects  in  his  plan  or  he  will,  by  the  exercise  of  vision 
and  disciplined  imagination,  lay  down  the  lines  along  which 
the  town  can  develop  without  costly  reconstruction. 

Who  is  making  the  most  substantial  contribution  toward 
the  orderly  development  and  administration  of  our  cities? 
It  will  be  admitted  that  the  engineer  is  constantly  assuming 
a  position  of  greater  importance  in  the  physical,  industrial  and 
commercial  development  of  all  countries,  but  nowhere  have  his 
services  been  in  greater  demand  than  in  the  construction  and 
operation  of  cities.  Where  towns  formerly  delegated  the 
investigation  and  even  the  execution  of  important  improvements 
to  committees  of  boards  of  aldermen,  who  might  have  thought 
it  necessary  to  employ  a  party  of  surveyors  or  even  one  or  two 
men  who  were  recognized  as  engineers,  there  are  now  organiza- 
tions of  technically  trained  men,  some  of  them  acknowledged 
experts  in  their  particular  line,  to  whom  are  left  both  the  final 
decision  as  to  the  plans  for  important  projects  and  complete 
responsibility  for  their  execution.  The  variety  of  subjects 
with  which  the  City  Engineer  of  a  town  of  several  hundred 
thousand  population  is  expected  to  be  familiar  is  quite  bewilder- 
ing. All  questions  relating  to  street  and  road  improvement, 
including  the  various  kinds  of  pavement  and  their  adaptability 
to  different  conditions;  the  design  and  construction  of  sewers 
and  the  various  methods  of  sewage  treatment  and  disposal;  the 
water  supply,  its  development,  protection,  treatment  where 
necessary,  and  its  distribution,  including  the  construction  and 
operation  of  pumping  plants;  the  collection  and  disposal  of 
wastes  by  the  most  effective  and  economical  methods  and  in  the 
least  offensive  manner;  the  lighting  of  streets  and  buildings, 
whether  by  contract  with  public- service  corporations  or  by  munic- 
ipal plants,  together  with  the  production  and  distribution  of 
electric  current  or  other  sources  of  power  and  heat,  such  as 
compressed  air  and  steam;  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  street  railway  tracks,  the  type  of  rail  and  the  kind  of  pave- 
ment best  suited  thereto;  problems  of  traffic  regulation  and 
control:    building   regulations,    including   not   only    the   code 


The  Opportunities  of  the  Municipal  Engineer       407 

governing  methods  of  construction,  but  restrictions  as  to 
height  and  arrangement — with  respect  to  all  of  these  and  more 
the  municipal  engineer  is  expected  to  be  able  to  advise  and 
frequently  design  and  execute. 

But  a  new  field  of  activity  has  lately  been  presented  to  him, 
that  of  administration  or  management.  In  selecting  a  business 
manager  it  is  the  custom  to  choose  one  who  has  had  extensive 
experience  with  the  kind  of  business  he  is  expected  to  manage- 
Municipal  business  consists  to  a  very  large  extent  in  the  opera- 
tion of  engineering  enterprises,  the  plans  for  which  were  designed 
and  carried  out  by  engineers.  It  is  quite  natural,  therefore, 
that  in  the  selection  of  a  manager  for  city  business  the  mu- 
nicipal engineer  should  be  considered  the  most  available.  The 
City  Manager  plan  of  administration,  described  in  the  chapter 
on  City  Planning  Legislation,  has  gained  great  headway, 
and  new  cities,  towns  and  villages  are  each  month  being  added  to 
the  list  of  those  which  have  adopted  it.  In  its  issue  for  June, 
191 5,  the  American  City  gave  some  statistics  concerning  the 
towns  which  had  adopted  this  plan.  They  vary  in  size  from 
villages  to  cities  of  more  than  100,000  p9pulation,  but  none  of  the 
larger  cities  appears  to  have  tried  the  experiment.  Of  30  towns 
the  title  of  "  City  Manager  "  was  selected  by  19,  that  of  "  Gen- 
eral Manager  "  by  three,  "  Business  Manager  "  and  "  Town 
Manager  "  by  two  each,  while  titles  of  "  Manager  of  Operation," 
*'  City  Engineer  and  Manager,"  "  Managing  Engineer  "  and 
*'  Village  Manager  "  each  were  taken  by  one  town.  But  of  more 
significance  than  the  title  selected  is  the  kind  of  man  chosen  to 
fill  the  place  or  at  least  the  sort  of  experience  which  was  sup- 
posed to  qualify  him  for  the  job.  If  the  statistics  of  the  Amer- 
ican City  are  correctly  understood,  eleven  of  the  30  managers 
appointed  were  civil  engineers  holding  professional  degrees 
and  with  experience  in  municipal  work;  four  were  engineers  of 
demonstrated  capacity,  though  not  holding  professional  degrees; 
two  had  been  engaged  in  pubhc  utihty  management,  while  in  one 
instance  each  the  previous  experience  of  the  man  selected  had 
been    Superintendent    of    Sewers,    Superintendent    of    Water- 


408  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

works,  Business  with  Engineering  Experience,  Business  Manage- 
ment, Contracting,  Real  Estate,  Alderman,  Business  and 
Politics,  Law  and  Politics,  Teaching,  Insurance  and  Politics, 
while  in  one  case  it  was  not  stated.  It  seems  that  municipal 
engineers,  who  have  been  conspicuously  backward  in  grasping 
new  opportunities,  are  having  forced  upon  them  duties  for 
which  their  training  especially  qualifies  them.  The  City  Man- 
ager plan  has  been  adopted  to  such  an  extent  that  a  City 
Managers'  Convention  was  held  late  in  191 5,  at  Dayton,  Ohio, 
at  which  Mr.  A.  M.  Waite,  the  City  Manager  of  the  Conven- 
tion city,  made  some  concise  and  forceful  statements  regarding 
the  powers  and  duties  of  the  City  Manager,  among  which  were 
the  following: 

Men  of  large  affairs  demand  broad  authority.  Broad  lines  of  authority 
develop  and  attract  capable  executives.  Broad  authority  carries  respon- 
sibihty.  ResponsibiHty  attracts  executives  and  imposes  on  them  caution. 
Executives  with  broad  authority,  and  using  caution,  accomplish  results. 
Communities  that,  for  any  reason,  cannot  give  broad  authority  to  the 
executive,  are  not  ready  for  the  ideal  and  should  accept  a  more  modified 
centralized  authority  and  not  caU  it  a  city-manager  form.  The  executive 
of  the  ideal  government  should  have  full  authority  in  the  administration 
of  government  and  be  held  responsible  for  it.  Lack  of  authority  permits 
excuses  and  explanations,  but  clean-cut  authority  gets  clean-cut  men  and 
clean-cut  results.  To  get  the  maximum  power  and  efl&ciency  from  the 
city  manager  he  must  be  given  the  maximum  authority. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  surveyors  who  may  have  been 
employed  in  the  establishment  of  a  town  or  in  the  earlier  period 
of  its  development,  and  a  distinction  is  draviTi  between  surveyors 
and  engineers.  While  such  a  distinction  was  intentional  and 
is  warranted  in  the  United  States,  it  might  be  misunderstood 
in  Great  Britain.  The  head  of  the  engineering  department  of 
the  British  city  is  frequently  called  the  City  Surveyor,  as  the 
head  of  the  engineering  department  of  the  state  of  New  York 
is  called  the  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor.  In  both  these  cases 
an  old  title  has  persisted,  alth  )ugh  it  does  not  properly  indicate 
the  nature  and  the  duties  of  the  office.  The  term  "  Surveyor  " 
appears  so  often  in  the  British  Town  Planning  Act  and  in  the 


The  Opportunities  of  the  Municipal  Engineer       409 

town  planning  and  engineering  literature  of  that  country  that 
Mr.  Thomas  Adams,  formerly  Town  Planning  Expert  of  the 
Local  Government  Board  and  now  Town  Planning  Adviser  to 
the  Canadian  Commission  of  Conservation,  was  requested  to 
indicate  just  what  the  functions  of  this  officer  are.  He  has 
done  so  in  the  following  words: 

The  surveyor  is  the  professional  man  who  deals  with  all  questions  con- 
nected with  real  estate  and  its  development  for  all  purposes.  He  is  also 
an  expert  in  land  valuation  and  in  questions  relating  to  the  assessments  of 
property.  These  men  have  to  pass  examinations  which  include  many 
architectural  and  engineering  questions,  as  in  developing  land  they  have  to 
deal  with  sewerage,  water  supply  and  many  intricate  problems  of  land 
tenure.  I  believe  that  a  surveyor  of  this  kind  does  not  exist  in  America, 
although  to  a  certain  extent  the  land  surveyor  of  Canada  performs  part  of 
the  duties  of  the  British  surveyor.  The  surveyor  is  thus  a  sort  of  combina- 
tion of  a  Canadian  land  surveyor,  municipal  engineer  and  real  estate  de- 
veloper. He  is  a  very  useful  professional  man  in  England  and  gives  a 
status  to  the  management  and  development  of  real  estate  which  is  badly 
needed  over  here.  Such  a  person  can  bring  special  expert  knowledge  to 
bear  on  town  planning.  In  regard  to  convenience,  for  instance,  he  has  to 
deal  with  the  problem  of  land  values  and  subdivisions  as  they  are  affected 
by  the  highways,  transportation,  and  planning  of  factory  areas.  The 
same  points  arise  in  connection  with  fixing  open  spaces  and  height  and 
character  of  buildings  under  the  heading  of  amenity.  Finally,  he  is  prob- 
ably the  most  important  man  in  connection  with  the  ascertaining  of  costs 
and  adjusting  the  cost  of  developing  land  to  character  of  buildings. 

The  municipal  engineer  needs  the  peculiar  information  and 
experience  of  the  British  surveyor  if  he  is  successfully  to  cope  with 
the  problems  which  are  now  being  forced  upon  him.  It  seems 
odd  that  men  who  have  been  so  closely  identified  with  the 
development  of  cities  and  with  the  administration  of  their 
affairs  should  have  manifested  so  little  interest  in  and  should 
have  been  so  slow  to  reahze  their  responsibility  for  the  general 
plan  upon  which  these  cities  have  been  started  and  along 
which  they  will  grow.  They  have  thought  much  of  the  problems 
of  construction  and  operation,  but  little  of  the  appearance  of 
the  town,  and  their  contributions  to  its  adornment  and  beauti- 
fication  have  been  small. 


410  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

Mr.  R.  Verstraete,  Ingenieur  principal  des  Fonts  et  Chaussees 
of  Bruges,  in  a  paper  presented  at  the  International  Road 
Congress  held  in  London  in  19 13,  says: 

Throughout  all  ages  mankind  has  done  its  utmost  for  the  embellish- 
ment of  cities.  Little  appears  to  have  been  written  upon  this  subject  and 
most  of  this  is  of  recent  date  and  is  the  work  of  art  enthusiasts.  Engineers 
appear  to  take  Uttle  interest  in  the  subject,  and,  if  their  apparent  indiffer- 
ence continues  much  longer,  they  will  find  that  this  natural  branch  of  their 
profession  wiU  pass  into  other  hands,  which  would  be  much  to  be  regretted. 
The  dominating  desire  for  the  picturesque,  for  variety  and  for  originaUty, 
which  ever  guides  the  art  enthusiast,  will  never  lead  to  a  natural  solution  of 
a  problem  such  as  is  the  outcome  of  utility  linked  with  good  taste.i 

As  pointed  out  in  an  early  chapter,  the  keenest  interest  in 
what  we  call  city  planning  has  heretofore  been  shown  by  archi- 
tects, landscape  architects,  artists,  students  of  civic  affairs, 
social  workers,  etc.,  while  engineers  appear  to  have  been  con- 
tent to  carry  out  the  physical  work  of  city  building  along  Hnes 
already  laid  down,  or,  when  called  upon  to  make  plans  for  future 
development,  to  adopt  the  conventional  features  followed  by 
their  predecessors.  Engineers  engaged  in  this  particular  class 
of  municipal  work  have  so  long  been  accustomed  to  doing 
things  when  they  are  told,  as  they  are  told  and  because  they  are 
told  by  those  whose  function  they  have  thought  it  to  be  to 
determine  general  plans  and  poHcies  that  they  are  to  a  large 
degree  responsible  for  the  idea  so  generally  prevailing  that  the 
duty  of  the  engineer  engaged  in  municipal  work  is  simply  to 
carry  out  the  ideas  and  policies  of  others.  Who  does,  who 
must  do  and  who  should  do  the  fundamental  work  of  planning 
out  cities?  It  is  not  the  work  of  the  architect,  as,  however 
important  may  be  his  function  in  making  a  city  dignified  and 
beautiful,  the  general  plan  will  have  been  made  before  he 
appears  on  the  scene  and  it  should  be  such  as  to  afford  suitable 
sites  for  his  great  buildings  without  rearranging  the  street 
system.  It  is  not  the  work  of  the  landscape  architect,  although 
the  plan  should  be  such  as  to  permit  effective  work  by  him  in 

1  Third  International  Road  Congress,  London,  1913,  Paper  No.  3. 


The  Opportunities  of  the  Municipal  Engineer       411 

the  treatment  of  parks  and  boulevards  and  in  the  selection  of  the 
areas  and  the  streets  to  be  so  treated.  It  is  not  the  work  of  the 
sculptor,  but  the  general  plan  should  afford  suitable  sites  for 
the  fountains,  monuments  and  statues  which  he  will  be  called 
upon  to  design.  The  engineer  as  the  first  man  on  the  ground 
has  a  rare  opportunity  and  a  grave  responsibility.  The  task 
calls  for  vision  and  imagination,  and  these  are  qualities  the  exer- 
cise of  which  on  the  part  of  the  engineer  has  often  been  thought 
rather  dangerous;  and  yet  the  engineer  lays  the  foundations 
upon  which  our  cities  are  built.  He  has  been  too  prone  to  regard 
this  preHminary  work  as  a  mere  matter  of  surveying;  more 
or  less  precise  surveying,  it  may  be,  but  he  has  been  more  intent 
upon  the  accuracy  of  his  measurement  of  lines  and  angles  and 
of  his  computation  of  areas  than  upon  the  larger  problem  of 
providing  for  the  orderly  and  sightly  development  of  the  city. 
His  eyes  have  been  so  closely  fixed  upon  the  drawing  board  that 
he  has  seldom  looked  up  to  catch  a  vision  of  the  great  city  that 
is  to  come — the  complex  organism  known  as  the  modern  city 
with  its  varied  activities,  its  difficult  social  problems,  its  ugUness 
or  its  beauty,  its  awkwardness  or  its  convenience,  its  capacity  to 
debase  or  to  elevate  its  citizens.  Every  blunder  that  he  makes 
will  afford  an  opportunity  for  some  one  else  to  win  applause 
for  a  plan  to  correct  it  through  large  expenditure  of  public 
funds.  It  often  seems  as  if  the  admiration  excited  by  what 
are  commonly  called  city  planning  projects  are  in  direct  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  destruction  of  existing  improvements  and 
the  extent  of  the  disarrangement  of  the  existing  plan  which  may 
be  involved.  If  you  are  going  to  dream,  we  are  told,  dream  a 
big  dream  and  the  people  will  look  and  admire;  but  these  big 
dreams  appear  always  to  involve  the  spectacular  making  over 
of  a  big  city  and  rarely  the  planning  of  a  city  not  yet  come  into 
being  or  even  of  a  city  which  is  just  beginning  to  give  promise 
of  rapid  growth,  although  still  in  a  formative  state.  Planning 
of  this  latter  kind  will  not  bring  applause;  genius  devoted 
to  such  work  will  not  win  prompt  recognition.  The  merits  of 
such  a  constructive  plan  may  not  be  appreciated  during  the 


412  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 

lifetime  of  the  man  responsible  for  it.  L'Enfant  died  many- 
years  before  his  plan  for  Washington  was  reahzed  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  fanciful  sketch. 

The  idea  seems  to  be  quite  prevalent  that  city  planning 
for  any  particular  town  is  something  that  may  be  taken  up 
whenever  sufficient  popular  interest  has  been  aroused  and  pur- 
sued with  enthusiasm  until,  with  the  aid  of  special  expert  advice, 
a  definite  plan  shall  have  been  evolved  which  will  probably 
necessitate  considerable  rearrangement,  and  that  the  town  will 
then  have  been  started  on  the  right  road  for  its  future  develop- 
ment. It  is  quite  probable  that  if,  a  year  or  so  later,  a  new  set 
of  experts  were  to  be  called  in  and  a  new  diagnosis  were  to  be 
made,  an  entirely  different  remedy  would  be  prescribed  which 
would  in  turn  be  discarded  by  a  later  set  of  experts.  A  good 
city  plan  for  a  well-estabhshed  town  that  wants  to  correct 
some  of  its  old  defects  and  properly  control  its  future  growth 
has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  produced  as  a  sudden  inspiration,  nor 
has  it  been  the  result  of  a  few  weeks  or  months  of  study  by  a 
man  or  a  group  of  men  unfamiliar  with  the  traditions,  the  habits 
and  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  people,  and  yet  that  is  the  usual 
method  of  procedure.  Commissions  have  been  created,  experts 
have  been  retained  and  acres  of  plans  in  the  form  of  cleverly 
drawn  pictures  have  been  made,  exhibited  and  admired  until 
some  one  has  asked  how  much  it  is  all  going  to  cost  and  how  the 
funds  are  to  be  raised.  It  is  astonishing  to  what  an  extent 
this  simple  question  tends  to  dampen  enthusiasm.  It  may  be 
that  some  of  the  projects  recommended  would  be  cheap  at  any 
price,  but  such  an  answer  will  not  convince  the  taxpayer. 
He  must  be  shown  just  how  and  why  they  will  be  of  advantage 
to  the  city  and  to  him  as  a  citizen. 

The  creation  of  a  proper  plan  will  require  years  of  patient 
work,  and  the  men  who  do  it  will  be  forgotten  before  it  is  finally 
carried  out.  It  is  no  one-man  job  and  it  is  never  actually 
finished.  However  carefully  and  skilfully  the  first  plan  may 
have  been  made,  unforeseen  changes  will  take  place,  new  methods 
of  transportation  will  be  developed,  new  inventions  wiU  power- 


The  Opportunities  of  the  Municipal  Engineer       413 

fully  affect  the  social  life  of  the  community,  and  the  plan, 
where  still  susceptible  of  change,  must  be  modified  to  meet  these 
changed  conditions.  Comprehensive  city  planning  can  best 
be  done  by  the  regularly  employed  technical  staff  of  the  city, 
but  the  organization  created  for  this  purpose  should  be  care- 
fully selected.  It  should  contain  men  who  are  familiar  with  the 
past  history  and  traditions  of  the  community  and  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  them,  but  who  can  appreciate  changing  conditions 
and  adapt  the  old  to  the  new  without  destroying  it.  The 
work  should  be  directed  by  men  who  do  not  think  the  exercise 
of  imagination  an  engineering  crime;  men  who  are  enthusiasts 
without  being  doctrinaires;  men  who  are  content  to  do  their 
work  well  without  hope  of  popular  applause  and  who  are  willing 
to  await  the  verdict  as  to  their  work  which  will  be  rendered 
by  coming  generations. 

Is  it  not  obvious  that  municipal  engineers  not  only  are 
primarily  responsible  for  the  lines  along  which  our  great  cities  will 
begin  to  grow  and  for  the  readiness  with  which  our  small  cities 
may  develop  into  large  ones,  but  that  they  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  direct  along  sane  and  rational  Hues  a  movement  to 
make  our  cities  convenient  and  beautiful  as  well  as  orderly  and 
healthy?  The  chief  purpose  of  the  author  in  undertaking  the 
preparation  of  this  volume  has  been  to  bring  home  to  them  this 
responsibility  and  awaken  in  them  a  realization  of  this  oppor- 
tunity. 

SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

While  city  building  is  as  old  as  civilization  and  much  has  been  written 
upon  the  subject,  particularly  upon  the  cities  of  ancient  and  medieval 
times,  the  literature  of  city  planning  in  the  sense  in  which  it  has  been 
considered  in  this  volume  is  of  recent  growth  and  no  attempt  has  yet 
been  made  to  prepare  a  complete  bibliography  of  the  subject.  An  excellent 
foundation  for  such  an  undertaking  has  been  laid  by  Professor  James 
Sturgis  Pray  and  Miss  Theodora  Kimball  of  the  School  of  Landscape 
Architecture  of  Harvard  University  in  their  system  of  classification,  which 
has  been  prepared  with  great  care  and  thoroughness. 

An  admirable  summary  of  "  Town  Planning  Literature  "  by  Professor 
Patrick  Abercrombie,  in  the  form  of  a  paper  read  before  the  British  Town 


414  The  Planning  of  the  Modern  City 


Planning  Institute,  and  which  was  published  in  the  issue  of  the  Town  Plan- 
ning Review  of  October,  191 5,  shows  the  state  of  the  literature  in  this 
field  and  indicates  that  there  is  quite  a  wealth  of  material  available  to 
the  student  of  the  subject.  Professor  Abercrombie  recognizes  the  great 
value  of  the  reports  which  have  been  prepared  for  cities  of  the  United 
States,  many  of  them  consisting  of  ambitious  plans  which  never  will  be 
carried  out,  but  many  containing  excellent  analyses  of  existing  conditions, 
pointing  out  defects  and  suggesting  practical  remedies.  For  the  effective 
graphical  presentation  of  information  of  this  kind  several  of  the  reports 
of  Mr.  John  Nolan  are  especially  notable.  Miss  Kimball's  Selected  List 
of  References  on  City  Planning,  published  in  1915  by  the  National  Con- 
ference on  City  Planning,  the  Check  List  of  References  on  City  Planning 
pubUshed  in  Special  Libraries  Magazine  for  May,  191 2,  and  the  List 
of  American  City  Planning  Reports,  published  by  the  American  City 
in  1915,  are  probably  the  best  available  sources  of  bibliographical  infor- 
mation. 

The  author  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate  the  sources  of  information 
upon  which  he  has  drawn,  nor  will  he  attempt  to  name  the  many  individuals 
who  have  so  kindly  and  cheerfully  given  him  valuable  information  and 
supplied  him  with  illustrations,  acknowledgment  of  which  has  been  made 
in  the  text.  To  all  of  them  he  renews  the  assurance  of  his  appreciation 
of  their  many  courtesies. 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  Prof.  Patrick,  12,  413 
Accidents : 

causes  of,  212 

in  streets,  211 
Adams,  Thomas,  121,  327,  341,  409 
Adickes,  Dr.  Franz,  59,  266,  386 
Adshead,  S.  D.,  135 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  153,  346 
Alberta  Town  Planning  Law,  333 
Alkrington  Estates,  304 
AUen,  V.  D.,  276 

American  City  Magazine,  407,  414 
Amsterdam,  228 
Antwerp,  14,  88 

cathedral,  167 

port  of,  57,  58 
Architects, Royal  Institute  of  British,33 
Arnold,  Bion  J.,  70 
Art  commissions,  358 
Assessments,  360,  364-378 

deferred  benefit,  374 

for  acquiring  parks,  369 

acquiring  streets,  368,  370 
building  sites,  366 
transit  lines,  365 

grading  of,  371 

in  New  York,  375 

installment,  375,  377 

justice  of,  376 
Atterbury,  Grosvenor,  312 
Austria,  city  planning  in,  13 
Authorities,  local: 

in  London,  286,  341 

Bacon,  Henry,  168 
Barstow,  Cal.,  171 


Bassett,  Edward  M.,  347 

Belgium,  city  planning  in,  14 

Bennett,  Edward  H.,  56,  146 

Berlin,  8,  20,  88,  119,  207,  237,  391 
parks,  131,  142 
railway  terminals,  72 

Bigot,  M.,  model  of  Rome,  3 

Billerica  Garden  Suburb,  312 

Birkenhead,  port  of,  61 

Birmingham,  Ala.,  404 

Birmingham,  Eng.,  141,  198 

Block  subdivision,  1 20-1 29 

Bogue,  Virgil  G.,  166 

Boston,  119,  291 

circumferential  streets,  105 
overbuilt  block  in,  40 
parks,  13s,  136,  139,  143,  184 
radial  streets,  105 

Boulevards.     {See  Parkways.) 

Boumeville,  302 

Brainard,  Owen,  191 

Bremen,  320 
port  of,  57 

Bridgeport,  346 

Bridges: 

Alexandre  III,  Paris,  173 

at  Ashokan  Reservoir,  N.  Y.,  174 

Brooklyn,  172 

Cambridge,  Boston,  173 

High  Bridge,  New  York,  173 

old  aqueduct,  Rio  de  Janiero,  173 

Washington  Bridge,  New  York,  173 

British  Town  Planning  Act,  199,  288, 

327,  339 
progress  under,  340 
British  Town  Planning  Institute,  8 


41S 


416 


Index 


Brodie,  John  A.,  98,  146 
Brooklyn,  129,  142,  355 
marginal  railroad,  74 
Brown,  Arthur,  236 
Bruges,  14,  410 
B runner,  Arnold  W.,  10,  257 
Brussels,  14,  88,  98,  152 
Buda-pest,  142 
Buenos  Aires,  20,  62,  184 
Buffalo,  253 
Buildings: 

arrangement  of,  265 

regulations  relative  to  in 

Berlin,  267 

Birmingham,  273 

Boston,  275 

Chicago,  27s 

Cleveland,  276 

Cologne,  270 

Diisseldorf,  269 

Frankfort,  268 

Hamburg,  269 

Leipzig,  271 

Munich,  268 

New  York,  274,  350 

Philadelphia,  275 

Rochester,  275 

Sheffield,  274 
grouping  of,  at  expositions,  17 
height  of: 

regulations  relative  to  in* 

Berlin,  277 

Birmingham,  280 

Boston,  281 

Buffalo,  282 

Charleston,  28 1 

Chicago,  281 

Cleveland,  276,  281 

Cologne,  279 

Diisseldorf,  279 

Edinburgh,  280 

Fort  Wayne,  281 

Frankfort,  277 

Hamburg,  278 

Leipzig,  279 

Liverpool,  280 

Munich,  278 


Buildings: 
height  of: 

regulations  relative  to  in: 

New  Orleans,  281 

New  York,  280,  350 

Philadelphia,  281 

Rochester,  282 

Sheffield,  280 

Toronto,  282 

Washington,  281 
use  and  occupancy,  control  of  in: 

Duluth,  284 

Los  Angeles,  282 

Milwaukee,  284 

Minneapolis,  284 

Seattle,  283 

St.  Paul,  284 

Toronto,  285 
wooden  in  U.  S.,  24 
Burnham,  Daniel  H.,  17,  37,  355 
Bums,  John,  176 
Burton,  C.  M.,  387 

Cab-stands: 

below  street  surface,  218 

regulation  of,  218 
Cadbury,  George,  302 
Calgary  Plan  Commission,  333 
Canadian    Conservation    Commission, 

335 
Canberra,  Australian  capital,  86 
Carrere,  Jno.  M.,  396 
Central  Park,  New  York,  value  of,  177 
Chamberlain,  Joseph,  199 
Charlottenburg,  122,  133,  231,  394 

overbuilding  in,  42 
Chicago,  20,  28,  119,  207,  253,  346,  354 
exposition  of  1893,  17,  150 
parks  of,  139 

plan  for  impfovement  of,  37, 184, 377 
railway  terminals,  68 
Cincinnati,  195 
Cities: 

American,  5 

approaches  to,  290 
limited  powers  of,  52 
population  of,  21 


Index 


417 


Cities: 
American: 

tall  buildings  in,  ii 
ancient,  3 

German,  population  of,  21 
medieval,  4 

rebuilding  in  Europe,  6 
City  Club  of  New  York,  365 
City  Plan,  definition  of,  44 
City  Plan  Quarterly,  291 
City  planning: 

definitions  of,  9,  10,  11 
financing,  25 

fundamental  principles  of,  47 
ideals,  23 
in  Austria,  13 
Belgium,  14 
England,  14 
France,  13 
Germany,  12 
Italy,  14 

South  America,  14 
Sweden,  12 

United  States,  14,  15,  17 
literature  of,  2,  5 
need  of,  for  small  towns,  22 
originality,  lack  of  in,  16 
purposes  of,  18 
Civic  centers,  162 

at  Cleveland,  162,  346 
Denver,  181,  346 
San  Francisco,  164,  346 
Seattle,  166 

Springfield,  Mass.,  164,  346 
Civil  Engineers,  Institution  of,  384 
Clapp,  Edwin  J.,  57 
Cleveland,  207 

Cologne,  96,  98,  183,  228,  391 
Columbia  Highway,  292,  295 
Comey,  Arthur  C,  291,  312 
Commission  government  for  cities,  322 
Commissions,  special  improvement,  36 
Conference  of  Mayors,  134 
Cooperative  Tenants'  Societies,  304 
Corthell,  Dr.  E.  L.,  62,  67 
Culpin,  E.  G.,  304 
Cuxhaven,  57 


Davidson,  Jas.  W.,  ^^^ 

Davies,  J.  V.,  84 

Dayton,  323,  408 

De  Forest,  Robt.  W.,  309 

Delhi,  Capital  of  India,  42 

Denver: 

civic  center,  181,  346 

parkways  of,  180,  184 
Des  Moines,  323 
Detroit,  99,  253,  346,  387 
Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  301 
Dresden,  174 

Bruhle  Terrace,  153,  183 
Dublin,  142 

Duisburg-Ruhrort,  harbor  of,  60 
Duluth,  industrial  town  near,  191 
Diisseldorf,  135,  390,  391 

Eberstadt,  Professor,  16 
Edinburgh,  87,  183 
Edinburgh  Gazette,  330 
Edwards,  A.  T.,  15,  306 
Edwards,  Percy  J.,  234,  384 
Elevated  railroads,  78,  82 
Elmes,  James,  93 
Encroachments : 

in  European  cities,  264 
New  York,  262 
Engineering  News,  113 
Engineering  Record,  164 
Engineers,  municipal: 

opportunity  of,  407 

responsibility  of,  411 

scope  of  work  of,  406 
England,  city  planning  in,  14 
Eno,  Wm.  P.,  216 

Equitable  building.  New  York,  36,  399 
Essen,  186,  193,  222 

government  of,  197 

Knipp  colonies  at,  11,  197,  300 

plan  of.  III 
Essen-Nord,  sewage  plant  at,  174 
Evelyn,  Sir  John,  ^$,  91 
Excess  condemnation,  379 

in  Germany,  386 
London, 384 
E.xpositions,  effect  of,  17 


418 


Index 


Fairfield,  Ala.,  192 

Fall  River,  193 

Financing  (^ee  also  Assessments),  360 

debt,  363 

excess  condemnation,  379 

Maine  road  improvements  361 

New  York  road  improvements,  361 

reckless,  examples  of,  362 

resources  of  cities,  363 

taxation,  363 

unearned  increment  tax,  394 
Financing  city  planning,  25 
Florence,  320 
Ford,  George  B.,  10,  347 
Forest  Hills  Gardens,  309,  316 
France,  city  planning  in,  13 
Frankfort,  151,  266,  386,  391,  392,  395 

port  of,  58,  183 

Galveston,  321 
Garden  cities,  299 

criticism  of,  306 

financing  of,  306-308 

purposes  of,  300,  302,  318 

statistics  of,  305 
Garden  City,  New  York,  301 
Gary,  Indiana,  87 

growth  of,  189 

plan  of,  190 
Geddes,  Professor  Patrick,  8 
Genoa,  320 
George,  Henry,  397 
German    Society    of     Architects    and 

Engineers,  47 
Germany,  city  planning  in,  12,  301 

medieval  towns  of,  114 
Ghent,  14 

churches  of,  167 

congress  of  cities  at,  8,  118 
Glasgow,  141,  236 
Goodrich,  E.  P.,  125 
Gordon,  Charles,  29 
Gorst,  Sir  Jno.,  300 
Grand  Rapids,  186 
Griffin,  Walter  B.,  86 

Hamburg,  133,  320,  391 


Hamburg,  port  of,  57,  183 
Hampstead  Garden  Suburb,  303,  316 
Hanover,  391 
Hanseatic  League,  320 
Harper's  Magazine,  18,  90 
Harriman,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  143 
Haussmann,  Baron,  27,  95 
Havre,  port  of,  60 
Head,  Mrs.  Betsy,  148 
Heating  plant,  central,  129 
Hegeman,  Dr.  Werner,  16,  23,  121,  146 
Height  of  buildings.     {See  Buildings.) 
Heights  of  Building  Commission,  New 
York,  266,  392 

creation  of,  346 

report  of,  348 
Hellerau,  garden  city  at,  302 
High  buildings,  some  advantages  of,  276 
Highways: 

about  cities,  288 

between  towns,  288 

French,  289 

New  York  State,  295 

Ohio,  296 
Hooker,  George  E.,  69 
Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  Act, 

British,  328,  386 
Howard,  Ebenezer,  299,  319 
Howe,  Frederic  C,  198,  302,  390,  395 
Humphreys,  Geo.  W.,  384 
Hynes,  J.  P.,  10 

Illustrations,  selection  of,  2 
Industrial  towns: 

lack  of  planning  in,  187 

paternalism  in,  193 

planning    of,    considerations    which 
should  control,  191 

special  needs  of,  187 
Indianapolis,  225 
Information,  sources  of,  413 
Inverness,  16 
Italy,  city  planning  in,  14 

Jamaica    Bay,    New    York    plan    for 

harbor  at,  66,  67 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  19,  22 


Index 


419 


Kansas  City,  i86 

parks  of,  133,  139 

parkways  of,  178,  184 
Karlsruhe,  87,  267 
Kensico  dam,  New  York,  174 
Kessler,  George  E.,  146 
Kiau  Chow,  395 
Kimball,  Theodora,  413 
Koester,  Frank,  392 
Krupp  Co.,  colonies  of,  197,  300 
Knebworth  Estate,  305 

Land  policies,  mtmicipal,  389 
as  found  in 
Berlin,  391 
Cologne,  391 
Diisseldorf,  390,  391 
Frankfort,  391,  392 
Germany,  390 
Great  Britain,  389 
Hamburg,  391 
Hanover,  391 
Strassburg,  391 
Ulm, 391,  392 
single  tax  plan,  397 
unearned  increment  tax,  394 
wild  building,  prevention  of,  393 
Landscape  architecture,  134 

profession,  beginning  of,  130 
Land  values  in  New  York,  398 

increase  of,  402 
Lay,  Chas.  D.,  134,  243 
Leavitt,  Chas,  W.,  302 
Legislation : 

Alberta,  Canada,  S33,  33^ 
British  Town  Planning  Act,  327 
city  charters,  321 
commission  government,  321 
commission-manager  plan,  323,  407 
Dayton  charter,  324 
Great  Britain,  17 
"Lex  Adickes,"  386 
Liverpool,  328,  332 
New  Jersey,  323,  336 
New  York  City,  346-352 
New  York  State,  336,  379 
Leipzig,  8,  133 


L'Enfant,  22,  26,  91,  151 
Letchworth,  198,  300,  307 
Lever,  Sir  Wm.,  302 
Lewis,  Harold  M.,  113 
Lighting: 

of  buildings,  240 
streets,  240 
Lincoln,  England,  248 
Liverpool,  133,  146,  237,  307,  328,  332 

port  of,  61 

ring  street,  98 
London,  88,  119, 122,  228, 339 

Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  29 

Local  Government  Board,  327 

omnibus  routes,  202 

parks  of,  141,  142 

pipe  subways,  234 

plans  for  rebuilding,  91 

port  of,  60,  61,  183 

Strand-to-Holborn  Improvement,  29, 
183,  384 

Tilbury  docks,  61 

Town  Planning  Conference,  8,  35 

Trafl&c  Branch,  Board  of  Trade,  55, 
201,  202 

traffic : 

increase  of,  202 

Royal  Commission  on,  106 

tramway  system,  202 
London  County  Council,  32,  132,  204, 

38s 
London  Gazette,  330 
London  General  Omnibus  Co.,  206 
London    Town    Planning    Conference, 
proceedings  of,  loi,  121,  146,  160, 
Los  Angeles,  405 

additions  to,  65,  294 

harbor  improvements  at,  64 
Lowell,  Guy,  161 
Liibeck,  320 
Lyons,  131,  186 

Maltbie,  MiloR.,  55,  76 
Manchester,  port  of,  61,  186 
Mannheim,  87 

Massachusetts  Homestead  Commission, 
40,  298, 313 


420 


Index 


Marseilles,  131 

McAneny,  George,  9,  346 

McElroy,  Samuel,  115,  117 

McKim,  Mead  &  White,  161 

Meryweather,  H.  F.,  181 

Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,   Lon- 
don, 31 

Milan,  236 

Minneapolis,  186,  293 

Monuments,  149 

Arc  de  Triomphe,  Paris,  152 
Brandenburg  Gate,  Berlin,  171 
Memorial  Arch,  Brooklyn,  171 
Washington  Arch,  New  York,  171 

Moody,  Walter  D.,  354 

Moscow,  96,  98,  119 

Motor  vehicles: 
increase  of,  208 
parking  of,  217 

Munich,  267 

Municipal   Engineers   of   the   City   of 
New  York,  proceedings  of,  375 

Naples,  28 

National  Conference  on  City  Planning, 
8,    55,    84,    125,    SS3,    335,    357, 

359 
National    Highway   Protective  Ass'n, 

211 
Nettlefold,  J.  S.,  199 
New  England  village  green,  87,  167 
New  Haven,  346 
New  York,  119,  126,  207,  225,  228,  321, 

338,  354 
city  planning  exhibition  at,  9 
control  of  trafl&c  in,  213 
courthouse  site,  162 
distribution  of  parks  in,  133 
Grand  Central  Terminal,  74 
Manhattan  Borough,  28 
Manhattan,  plan  of,  88 
Minetta  street  problem,  41 
municipal  office  building,  161 
parks  of,  142 
parkways  of,  139 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Station,  74 
railway  terminals,  74 


New  York: 

rapid-transit  system  of,  81,  83,  184 

Seventh  avenue  extension,  37 

tall  buildings  in,  12,  36 

water  supply,  184 
New  York  State  Barge  Canal  Terminal 

Commission,  59,  60 
New  York  State  road  system,  295 
New  York  Times,  237 
New  York  Tribune,  338 
Nolen,  John,  414 
Nottingham,  235 
Nuremberg,  87 

Oakland,  Cal.,  harbor  improvements, 

64 
Ohio,  county  road  system,  296 
Olmsted  Brothers,  232 
Olmsted,  Frederick  L.,  171,  311 
Omaha,  16,  186 
Ormond,  Wm.  C,  375 

Palisades  Interstate  Park,  143 
Paris,  27,  88,  98,  119,  122,  152,  207 

beautification  of,  183 

disturbance  of  streets  in,  237 

parks  of,  131,  142 

plan  of,  95 

sewers  of,  236 
Parker,  Barry,  300 
Parks : 

ancient  cities,  in,  130 

Charles  River  Basin,  Boston,  145 

classes  of,  136 

economic  values  of,  177 

expert  advice  in  selection  of,  140 

land  available  for,  138 

overdevelopment  of,  135 

Palisades  Interstate,  143 

relation  to  street  system,  138 

royal  pleasure  grounds,  as,  130 

secured  by  gift,  141 

small,  145 

statistics  of,  132 

Strathcona,  145 

system,  need  of,  138 

time  to  acquire,  135 


Index 


421 


Parkways: 

assessments  for,  178 

Bronx  River,  143 

Brooklyn,  178 

Denver,  180,  184 

Essex  County,  N.  J.,  232 

Fainnount,  Philadelphia,  172 

Kansas  City,  178 
Philadelphia,  119,  153,  207,  217.    257, 
291 

block  subdivision  in,  127 

Fairmount  Parkway,  172 

parks  of,  143 
Pittsburgh,  16,  186,  193,  346 

"Hump,"  39 
Playgrounds,  146 

local  benefits  of,  147 
"Places,"  in  European  cities,  224 
Population : 

of  American  cities,  20,  404 
German  cities,  20 
German  Empire,  20 
United  States,  20 

rural,  19 

urban, 19 
Port  Sunlight,  302 
Portland,  Ore.,  292 

j&re  engine  house  in,  170 

harbor  improvements,  64 
Pray,  Prof.  Jas.  Sturgis,  413 
Pratt,  Fredk.  B.,  355 
Prefect  of  the  Seine,  237 
Prince  Rupert,  harbor  improvements,  64 
Public  buildings,  150 

along  waterfront,  153 

grouping  of.     {See  Civic  centers.) 

location  of,  152 

minor,  169 

New  York  courthouse,  162 

New  York  municipal  office  building, 

lOl 

railway  stations,  155 
schools,  169 

Versailles,  Chateau  at,  152 
Washington,  168 
Public    Service    Commission    of   New 
York,  207,  250 


Pullman,  193,  248 
Pumping  stations,  173 
Purpose  of  volume,  i,  413 

Railroad  crossings,  247 
dangers  of,  249 
laws  governing,  250 

Connecticut,  250 

Illinois,  251 

Indiana,  251 

Iowa,  251 

Maine,  251 

Massachusetts,  251 

Michigan,  252 

Minnesota,  252 

New  Hampshire,  252 

New  Jersey,  252 

New  York,  249 

Ohio,  252 

Pennsylvania,  252 

Rhode  Island,  252 

Vermont,  253 
bridges  at: 

clearance  of,  254 

design  of,  256 
Railroads: 

entering  cities,  247 
in  open  cuts,  79 

streets,  cost  of,  84,  85 
street  surface: 

overhead  trolley,  239 

position  of,  231 

underground  contact,  239 
Railroad  stations  and  terminals: 
Antwerp,  160 
Barstow,  Cal.,  171 
Chicago,  158 
Edinburgh,  158 

efifect  of  electrical  operation,  155 
Frankfort,  160 
location  of,  155 
London, 158 
New  York,  155 
San  Diego,  171 
St.  Louis,  158 
Washington,  158 
Reade,  Chas.  C,  306 


422 


Index 


Reading,  346 
Reservoirs,  173 

Restrictions.  (See  Buildings,  Arrange- 
ment of,  Height  of.  Use  and 
Occupancy  of.) 

Forest  Hills  Gardens,  317 

Hampstead  Garden  Suburb,  316 

meaning  of,  260 

St.  Louis  "places,"  245 
Rey,  A.  Augustin,  118,  160,  391 
Riley,  W.  E.,  35 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  20,  63,  153,  184 
Road  Board  of  Great  Britain,  204 
Road  Congress,  International,  at  Lon 

don,  240,  410 
Roads.     (See  Highways.) 

disregard  of  old,  116,  117 

importance  of  old,  103,  117 

old,  to  be  widened,  104 
Roadway  widths,  226 

for  first  improvement,  227 
Robinson,  Charles  M.,  10,  97,  242 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  99,  293,  346 
Rome,  model  of,  3 
Rothenburg,  16 
Ruislip-Northwood  scheme,  341 

Sage    Foundation    Homes    Company, 

309,  315 
Sage,  Mrs.  Russell,  309 
San  Diego: 

harbor  improvements,  65 

railway  station,  171 
San  Francisco,  313 

civic  center,  164 

harbor  improvements,  64 

parkways,  139 
Santa    Barbara,  Cal.,    post   office  at, 

170 
Satellite  cities,  188 
Schmidt,  Dr.  R.,  iii,  198 
Seattle,  217,  346,  404 

civic  center,  166 

harbor  improvements,  64 
Sharp,  Dr.  Clayton,  H.,  240 
Shaw,  Dr.  Albert,  97,  141 
Sheffield,  186 


Sidewalks,  width  of,  226 
Single  Tax  Review,  398,  400 
Snyder,  George  D.,  82 
Solotaroff,  Wm.,  243 
South  America,  city  planning  in,  14 
Special  Libraries  Magazine,  414 
Springfield,  Mass.,  civic  center,  164, 346 
St.  Helens,  236 
St.  Louis,  207,  244 
State  institutions,  location  of,  298 
Statistics,  accuracy  of,  7 
Stewart,  Alex.  T.,  301 
Strand-to-Holborn  Improvement,  Lon- 
don, 28 

carried  out,  34 

cost,  34 

finally  authorized,  34 

first  proposed,  31 
Strassburg,  391 
Street  details: 

in  France,  222 
Germany,  222 

irregularity  of,  221 

standardization  of,  221 
Street  traffic.     {See  Traffic.) 
Street  widths: 

Berlin,  prescribed  for,  107 

German  cities,  secondary,  prescribed 
for,  107 

London,  prt  possd  for,  106 
Streets: 

alignment  of,  108,  no,  114 

arterial,  106 

cul-de-sac,  119 

diagonal,  102 

fixed  by  private  developments,  109 

gridiron  plan  of,  89,  102 

junctions,  109,  in,  224,  225 

lamp  standards  in,  240 

lighting  of,  240 

minor,  108 

offsets  in.  Ill  ' 

orientation  of,  118 

planting  in,  242 

purpose  of,  200 

secondary,  106 

signs  indicating,  24  ^ 


Index 


423 


Streets: 

trees  in,  242 

wide,  subdivision  of,  230,  233 
Strunsky,  Simeon,  89 
Sub-surface  structures,  233 
in  New  York,  233,  235 
subways  for: 
Glasgow,  236 
London,  234 
Milan,  236 
Nottingham,  235 
Paris,  236 
St.  Helens,  236 
Surveyor,  functions  of,  409 
Sweden,  city  planning  in,  12 

Tacoma.  harbor  improvements,  64 
Taft,  William  H.,  22,  26,  378 
Taxes,  Dept.  of.  New  York,  401 
Taylor,  Graham  R.,  188 
Tenant  Cooperators,  Ltd.,  305 
Topography,  importance  of,  103 
Toronto,  parks  of,  141 
Town  Planning  Review,  12,  118,  240, 

306,  327,  340 
TraflSc: 

accidents  due  to,  2n 

alien,  200 

control  of,  212 
block  system,  213 
gyratory  system,  216 

delays  to,  175,  182 

horse-drawn,  208 

London,  201 

motor  vehicle,  208 

omnibus  vs.  tramway,  206 

problems  of,  201 

relation  to  city  planning,  218 

various  cities,  207 
Triggs,  Inigo,  216 
Turner,  Daniel  L.,  84 


Tuttle,  Arthur  S.,  373 

Ulm, 391,  392 

United  States,  city  planning  in,  14,  15 
United  States  Steel  Corporation,  189 
Unwin,   Raymond,   4,    loi,    102,    108, 
216,  222,  300 

Vancouver,  145 

harbor  improvements,  64 
Vehicles: 

flexibility  of,  209 

relative  obstruction  by,  210 
Venice,  320 
Versailles,  152 
Verstraete,  R.,  410 
Victoria,  B.  C,  145 

harbor  improvements,  64 
Vienna,  20,  28,  96,  98,  119,  207 

ring  street,  97,  183 

Waite,  A.  M.,  408 
Wales,  Salem  H.,  177 
Walker,  Jas.  B.,  250 
Washington,   22,   26,  86,  91,  99,   119, 
225,  378 

Lincoln  Memorial,  168 

public  buildings  of,  168 

scale  of,  102,  134 
Washington,  George,  22 
Weyl,  Walter  E.,  18 
White,  Alfred  T.,  355 
Whitten,  Dr.  Robt.  H.,  357 
Williams,  Frank  B.,  392 
Wirt,  Wm.  A.,  191 
Woodlands  Mining  Village,  305 
Woodward,  Prof.  John,  93 
World  Building,  New  York,  398 
Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  35,  91 

Zoning  system,  266 


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